My Resting Place Is in God

My Resting Place Is in God

Psalm 23

Matthew 11:28-29

            One of my goals when I work with voice students is to help them get rid of the tension that stands in the way of good vocal production.  +It can be a difficult goal to attain.  Those who are the most conscientious are often the ones who have the most difficulty achieving the kind of relaxation good vocal quality demands.  These students want so much to please, want so much to be successful that they tense up trying to do the right thing.  When students finally learn to relax, there is a feeling of accomplishment and well-being that is difficult to describe.  At that point, real vocal instruction can begin.  We’ve eliminated the biggest obstacle to successful singing.  Now we can move forward to find out how good they can be.  They can learn to sing their songs with beauty and freedom.

            How like my voice students are many of us who try to follow God!  We build tension into our lives.  Some of us do it because we want to please God so much that we work far too hard at trying to do the right thing.  Remember the story of Mary and Martha in John’s gospel?  Some of us build tension in an attempt to run from God, to hold onto those things in our lives we value so highly that we can’t bear to give them up.  Whether we struggle to do the right thing or struggle to keep ourselves for ourselves, the result is the same.  We fail to achieve all we can for God because we get in our own way.

            David addressed this in the psalm which is a favorite for so many people.  You know it;  it begins, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  David goes on to speak about green pastures and still waters.  In a verse that all of us should repeat at least once a day, he says of God, “He restores my soul.”

            What a wonderful picture David paints:  a beautiful, pastoral scene where all is at peace, where no enemy threatens, where there is enough to satisfy all.  David concludes by stating that he will “dwell in the house of the Lord forever” surrounded by God’s mercy and goodness.

            Even though this psalm must have been recited many thousands of times over the centuries, the children of Israel had yet to find peace.  They still built tension into their lives.  In many cases this tension was caused not by their own efforts, but by the actions and attitudes of those around them.  Still, first century Judah was not dwelling in safety.  David’s dream of the perfect pasture had yet to be realized.  It was a time of stress for everyone, some because they waited expectantly for the fulfillment of God’s promises, and some because they were busily pursuing their own ends.

            Then came Jesus, who offered the peace so many longed for.  As he was teaching one day, he looked to his Father in heaven and prayed.  Then turning to his listeners, he spoke words of comfort.  We can imagine him opening his arms wide to include not just those in front of him, not just the first century world, but all of us, down through the ages.  Having compassion for everyone he said:

“Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Are you tired of the burden you’ve been carrying?  I’ll give you an easier one.  My yoke is not as heavy nor as cumbersome as the one you’ve placed on yourselves.  Whatever the burden—whatever the reason you’re tense, overworked, over-tired, take my yoke, accept my teaching, learn from me how to give up the stress you’ve built into your lives, and learn to live tension-free. Within my service you will find rest for your souls.  Stop fighting yourselves and learn to sing the songs of peace, beauty and freedom I will teach you.”