TODAYS
WORD FOR MONDAY FEBRUARY 4, 2013
RESTLESS
DEFINITION:
Characterized
by or showing inability to remain at rest; uneasy; fearful; discontent:
unsettled.
SCRIPTURE:
"Attend
to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily." Psalm
55:2
KNOWLEDGE
AND EXPERIENCE:
People
are born with a sense of being lost, feeling incomplete, and unfulfilled. Man
was created as a spiritual being and made to have fellowship with God. Without
this fellowship the unrighteous person is unsettled and without peace and
contentment. Discontentment makes people restless and causes them to search for
something in life that will give them satisfaction.
Nicodemus
was a Jewish ruler and teacher so he was very knowledgeable about the Jewish
laws and religion. As a Pharisee he held a respected position and was well
established in life but was lacking something and he knew it. His sense of need
drove him to come to Jesus, as the scripture tells us, by night and in secret.
He was seeking answers for his unrestlessness. He came in secret because the
Jewish rulers considered Jesus a threat to their position of power so
Nicodemus, no doubt, was fearful to be caught associating with Jesus.
The
actions of Nicodemus later in life, as recorded in the scriptures, tells us
that he willingly received Jesus into his heart and indeed was born again. With
Joseph of Aramathea, he went openly to Pilate, not secretly as before, to get
the body of Jesus for preparation for burial.
Many
people today are just like Nicodemus. They seem to have it all. They are
prosperous, knowledgeable, religious and highly respected yet they are
unfulfilled and restless. If you are one of them, how do you overcome
restlessness in your life? First of all, just as Nicodemus did, you must come
to Jesus and ask Him into your life.
Even
as believers we experience restlessness in our lives. David was a man of great
faith in God yet he experienced restlessness, as we have written in the verse
from Psalm 55:2 above. At this time David feared for his life due to the
betrayal of a close friend. Although David loved and served the Lord, he was
not immune from the problems and pressures of this evil world. David knew where
to turn in his times of stress and restlessness. In our times of restlessness
we as believers need to turn to God just as David did. In Psalm 37: 1-8 David
gives us sound and clear advice to overcome the restlessness in our lives.
He
tells us first not to fret because of evil people that we have to put up with
in life, nor to be envious of those who do wrong and seem to prosper and suffer
no consequences.
Second,
we are to trust in the Lord and do good.
Third,
we are to delight in the Lord and the result that we can expect is that God
shall give us the desires of our heart.
Fourth,
we are to commit our ways unto the Lord by trusting in Him.
Fifth,
we are to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him to respond to our cry to
Him.
Finally
the Psalmist tells us to cease from anger and forsake wrath.
When
we are restless it is easy to let ourselves fret and worry about things. When
we worry we focus on our problems and get stressed. Stress often leads to
anger. If we turn our problems over to the Lord and trust in Him, our thoughts
will be on Him and His goodness to us. Then He can give us His peace and we can
rest in the Lord.
If
you are facing restlessness in your life just remember these thoughts: Do not
fret; trust in the Lord; delight in the Lord; commit your ways to the Lord;
rest in the Lord and cease from anger and forsake wrath.
LEARNING:
Our
memory verse for this week is found in Psalms 100:4.
Enter
into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful
to Him, and bless His name.
PRAYER:
Help
me to overcome restlessness in my life by not worrying about the
"things" in my life and putting my total trust in You. Help me every
moment of this day to delight in You, to commit my ways unto You and to rest in
You.
