The Beautiful Truth

REST

"There remains a rest for the people of God."
Hebrews 4:4. God wants you to have a soul at rest.
Your past, present and future are safe in Jesus Christ.
You can give a huge sigh of relief.

Now he wants you to learn to trust in Him, day by day.
Trust is the bedrock of Sabbath rest. Trust is the way to peace.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee because he trusts in thee."

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When our daughter, Ana, was about three or four years old, her Dad and I frequently told her "I love you."
Maybe we said it too often, because at bedtime one night when I said, "I love you, Sweetie," she answered with exaggerated patience: "I know you love me. But are you happy at me?"

I told my friend Jane about this and she said, "That's it exactly. I know God loves me because he is God and he is love. He loves everyone. But I wish I could know if he is 'happy at me.'"

Get ready for some gospel good news. You are God's child, and He is happy with you. He delights in you. He rejoices over you with singing! Zephaniah 3:17

Are you perfect? Of course not. He is still happy with you, you are still his own child; His love never ends. You are joy to Him.

I hope you will read Psalm 139. God formed you in your mother's womb. Listen to the intimacy:

"My frame was not hidden from thee when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth. Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, everyone of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God! When I awake, I am still with thee."

"I have loved you with an everlasting love," God explains.
"Therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." Jeremiah 31:3

His love for you is everlasting. Nothing can deter it, nothing can hinder it. Not even you.

St. Paul wrote, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? I am fully persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:35-39

Begin to believe this and watch what happens inside your soul.
You may run into doubts. Remember, ask God to help you if you run into unbelief.

Let him work this precious knowledge into your heart, like a potter molding clay. Relax in His hands and let Him shape you.

I had the pleasure of taking pottery classes both in college and in a Community Art Center. It is a wonderful experience. The hardest part, for me, is centering the clay. It has to be perfectly centered under your hands. Then you can make any number of amazing things from simple clay!

God wants to center us in His hands. When the clay is centered it becomes quiet, even though it is moving very fast. It doesn't resist the potter's hands. It yields.

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

Back to my little girl's nighttime question. Does God approve everything you do and say? No. But he remembers our frame, he knows that we are dust. He is still happy that you are his child. He loves you with an everlasting love. That's the beautiful truth.