How To Slow the Rush and Really Rest
My focused and fast read through the Bible came to a near stop two days before I stepped foot on the breathtaking grounds of Glen Eyrie Castle.
God said, slow.
I can do that? I asked.
Yes, I CAN do that.
I can trace His name through Old Testament stories, and I can also read the New Testament at a pace that lets me soak in it. I can slow so my heart can fill, linger on my knees and simply listen, walk country roads–instead of on my treadmill, pouring over pages–when my heart needs to still.
Although I’d strategically read ahead in preparation for the retreat I’d be helping lead, I read only seven verses during my quiet time the entire trip–the same seven verses, several times over, each morning. Here’s an excerpt, read from The Voice Translation:
For His unfailing love is great, and it is intended for us, and His faithfulness to His promises knows no end. Praise the Eternal!
Give thanks to the Eternal because He is always good. He never ceases to be loving and kind . . .
When trouble surrounded me, I cried out to the Eternal; He answered me and brought me to a wide, open space. The Eternal is with me, so I will not be afraid of anything.
– Psalm 117:2-118:6
Despite my slowed pace, the same question (from Ann Voskamp’s Sacred Prayer journal) lingered: “Who do I say that God is today? (Mark 8:29). I’d answer, God is Endless Love, Always Meant for Us–and then I’d have to pause to sit with weightiness of it for a while.
Endless Love
There’s no stopping endless love for there is no cap, no fill line, no way to temper the passion of God Himself. God’s love is wild and reliable, like the constant roar of the ocean. It’s effortless (on His part) and undeserved (on ours). God’s love is ceaseless, and we can resist it or we can let it drench us and quench our thirst and quiet our questions and silence the lies and answer our ache.
Endless Love follows you at every turn, into every unknown, through every season of stretched-long waiting. He’s got your back.
God who is Endless Love surrounds you, shields you, shelters you. He feeds you and leads you, like a never-weary Shepherd.
His love is presence in full, gaze that never looks away, an ear always bent to hear your words–and your heart.
Always Meant for Us
What catches in my throat is that this love was always meant for us. For you. For me.
Maybe you’ve dismissed God’s love as meant for the person who beat you there or got a better grade or stole the attention. But God? He doesn’t look at you last.
You’re not an afterthought.
Not a stand-in for someone else.
Not second-best.
Not overlooked, ever.
God’s insistent, ceaseless love is directed straight towards you. Every ember of His being longs for you to know how dearly you’re esteemed.
Endless, Effortless Praise
The last line in Psalm 117 is “Praise the Eternal!” God’s endless, effortless love spurs our endless, effortless praise. We don’t have to reach for ways to thank Him. He gives ample reason for gratitude.
“Give thanks to the Eternal because He is always good. He never ceases to be loving and kind,” encourages the verse that follows (Psalm 118:1).
When we’re overwhelmed with the unstoppable goodness of God, we can’t keep quiet. I felt that in my own heart in quiet early mornings during the Daughters First Retreat when I couldn’t sleep. And I witnessed it in the Great Hall of Glen Eyrie Castle as nearly 100 women left behind titles and to-do’s and leaned into honest, tender worship.
The Good Shepherd had captured our hearts in fresh and healing ways, and the praise that filled the room was pure and incredibly beautiful.
But the truth is that God’s “goodness and love [follows us] all the days of [our lives]” (Psalm 23:6, NIV) no matter where we find ourselves today. Could you slow for a moment and let God love you?
Maybe embracing slow is turning a worship song. (And of course, I have a recommendation–one of the songs we sang during the Daughters First Retreat.)
Maybe it’s repeating a breath prayer like
Draw me (inhale)
Closer, Jesus (exhale).
Maybe it’s lingering for a few minutes on your knees or with your palms turned up or your arms lifted in praise.
Loving and Kind (x4)
Five times in chapter 117, the line “He never ceases to be loving and kind” is repeated. Four occurrences appear in those handful of verses at the beginning. And every time I read through the passage, the promise met my expectant–albeit weary–heart.
After a rich, tear-wet journey through the Old Testament searching for who God is on every page, resting in His endless love felt like a bear hug. Again and again and again the truth that God’s love never runs out and is always meant for us brought strength to my soul, filling me for another day of pouring out.
Right now, God is also inviting you to rest in the wide-open welcome of the One ceaselessly compassionate. Infinitely kind. Tenderly present.
Before you can neighbor well, before your faith will ripple, before the tender pieces of your own soul can heal, you need time with Endless Love, Always Meant for Us.
Friend, you have permission to really rest. To slow something too fast for your current season. To let Jesus love you.
Here’s what I’m praying over you:
May the forever faithfulness and ceaseless kindness of God slow your steps and turn your attention towards Him. May you rest in the arms of Endless Love, Always Meant For Us so your faith can ripple through casual conversation and unmerited acts of kindness.
Just a friend over here in your corner,
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