Relief to the Weary
The past year was an eventful one for our family. My husband and I celebrated our 30th anniversary, we celebrated the births of two grandchildren (traveling to Albertville, France, to meet one of them), I enrolled in a grad school program (designed to complete a two-year program in one year), and I manage middle schoolers for a living. Survival became dependent on checklists, spreadsheets, late nights (NOT my favorite), and my family pitching in to keep the ship afloat. I am tired!
I counted the days from Christmas break until April, where two friends joined me for our spring break at the beach (a place which has always been synonymous with rest and rejuvenation for me). I could hardly believe it when we finally arrived and were blessed with beautiful weather. One afternoon, while my friends explored and wandered, I found myself sitting alone on the beach, wrapped in towels to protect me from the wind, and with my feet firmly planted in the sand. My attention wandered from the book I was reading, and I found myself mesmerized by the rhythm of the waves as they washed up onto the shore. The blue-green water sparkled in the sun; in the distance, a pod of dolphins lazily swam toward the pier. I took a deep breath, physically feeling the presence of God, and the words of Psalm 23 echoed in my head.
Familiar, comforting words. But on this day, I noticed something different. Who is the one doing all of the things? It isn’t me! The shepherd is Christ, who makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside quiet waters. Green pastures are a place of cool and refreshing rest, and quiet waters evoke images of the same. Why would he do that? To refresh my soul. He leads me in his will, always wanting the best for me, even when I sin and walk away from him. If ever I needed a reminder of the Lord’s presence in my life, and how much he cares for me, this was it!
But wait! There’s more! When I am afraid, when struggles come, when evil seems to loom large over me, his rod and staff comfort me. I can sit at the feet of the Lord, confident that he will never leave me or forsake me. God himself prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies and anoints my head with oil. In the Old Testament, oil was a means of sanctification, of being made holy, like God. If ever anyone was unholy, it is me, and yet my Lord anoints me to make me like himself. My cup overflows! The Lord’s goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life―again, he is doing the work!
I pondered these verses that day on the beach, literally lying down beside quiet waters, and realized that this is reminiscent of Law/Gospel Theology. In his explanation of his 95 Theses, Martin Luther wrote regarding Thesis 62 (The Gospel), “The gospel is a preaching of the incarnate Son of God, given to us without any merit on our part for salvation and peace.” There is literally nothing I can do to earn my way to eternal life with Christ, other than believe in him and trust him to lead me. It’s no accident that the only thing I will actively do is dwell in his house forever. What a relief!
As this crazy year comes to an end―summer break just out of reach, but finally in sight―I am looking forward to not going to work every day, completing my graduate school program, spending time with my family and grandchildren, and resting in my Lord. My cup overflows and I want to sing with Isaiah, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak”
(Is 40:28-31). What a wonderful Savior we have―one who does all the verbs for us so we can be in his presence forever. He will never grow tired or weary like me. His power will increase in my weakness. He is the Good Shepherd, and I am so thankful to be called one of his sheep.
Amy Bourque is the secretary of WMCLB and also serves as the president of the Eastern Region WMCLB.