I came across an incredibly powerful verse recently which reminded me of how much God loves me (and you) and how hard he works to have a personal relationship with us. The verse is Psalms 116:2 which says:
Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!
If you would like to read more, here is the rest of Psalm 116.
The visual of God bending down to listen struck me as very gentle and caring. Think about when your kids started talking and you couldn’t wait to hear what they had to say. You wanted them to keep talking because every word they said was meaningful to you.
In order to encourage them to talk more, what did you do? You certainly didn’t ignore them or turn away. No, you focused on them and bent down to their level to let them know you were listening. You wanted to hear everything they had to say.
In the same way, God loves it when we talk to Him and He definitely doesn’t ignore us or look away. No, He bends down to hear everything we have to say.
Later in Psalm 116, it says “when I was brought low, He saved me” and then it says “return to your rest my soul because the Lord has been good to you.” Take a minute to think about what a soul at rest really feels like. When was the last time your soul was truly at rest? Can you remember?
I hope your answer to that question is better than mine because 2020 is not doing much to help my soul rest. COVID, social unrest, and the most ridiculous Presidential campaign imaginable are forming a trifecta of chaos. Not to mention all of the other things we have to manage like our job and family!
Like so many of our lessons, the answer is not that complicated but it’s difficult. I like to say it’s simple like running a marathon…..there’s no mystery to it but it takes a lot of diligence and hard work. With our phones dinging and buzzing with email, social media, fantasy football alerts, and the latest news, we can’t go very long without being distracted.
But in the midst of all of the chaos, imagine God bending down even lower, not only because he wants to listen but also right now because He knows we are hurting and need our loving Father to be near. Just turn it over to Him and it’s that easy, right? Of course it’s not that easy or we wouldn’t have a whole lesson on it. But if we can remember to stop fretting a few minutes here and there in order to pay attention to our Heavenly Father who is bending down, maybe our souls can find a little rest.
Questions:
- Sometimes we think of God as an authoritarian figure but how does it make you feel to think about Him bending down to hear what we have to say? Humbling? Reassuring?
- Do you share the sentiment that 2020 is a particularly difficult time for our souls to be at rest? If so, what are some of the things that are causing the most stress in your life right now?
- On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much is your soul at rest?
- Do you agree with the marathon analogy? Is it just a matter of continually focusing on turning our anxieties over to God? If not, why is it so difficult?
- If God is already bending down, what are some things we can do to help our souls find rest?
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