Mom Time News It Time To Rest in God I was speaking with a friend who was adopting some children. "Is the legal process complete yet?" I eagerly inquired. "No," she exasperatedly sighed. "It would be complete, except they have no one to type up the final papers." She volunteered to go in after a full day of work and ministry just to type papers, not just for her own adoptive children, but so that other children would finally have the emotional and spiritual stability of a godly home. In giving of her time and skills, she was assured that other children would likewise be able to be freed for adoption and not just be another statistic in the system. Adoption is one of the purest forms of evangelism because it really does require you to daily lay down your life as you exemplify Christ to your children. Interestingly though my friend had been involved in a long term and disappointing process to adopt she was not bitter. She accepted people’s laziness or lack of commitment to the cause as an unpleasant fact and therefore she was not frustrated. Acceptance bought peace. Fred Smith, the consulting editor of Leadership magazine and a gracious Christian leader himself, once said we must know the difference between problems and facts of life. A problem is something I can do something about, whereas a fact of life is something I cannot do anything about no matter how hard I try. He further advised that we constantly must recognize facts of life and accept them and not spend time thinking about things which cannot be solved. Marie Esposito (who along with her husband Roy pastors Restoration Christian Fellowship) calls that resting in God. She relates how it is a process of those of us prone to being gifted movers and shakers in the kingdom. I know that sounds a bit crass but there are some in the kingdom of God who can create their own success based on working a few variables. They read a book on church growth, mimic others successful messages, and then engage in other church growth gymnastics and viola the ministry grows. Is God’s hand on it? We must be careful not to equate God’s approval with human success no matter how impressive it may seem to us. We have to be careful that we do not make our plans, work our plans, and then judge our spiritual success on achieving our plans. This is not singly related to churches. I have seen women connive plans to marry someone, knowing it is the wrong decision, with the thought that once they are married they can just go to counseling. I have seen ministers deny when an outreach has been a failure, by inflating numbers and denying any problems existed or that the needs of the people were not really met. In the Old Testament, we read about the Israeli false prophets who refused to see the truth because that would mean they would have to change. We all have the propensity to make ourselves look good and deny the facts because outwardly the validation we seek is really from our works. This is not the rest of God. Resting in Jesus means we accept glory and praise only from him. As Pastor Marie relates, we all must learn to rest. As we spoke I told her of my frustration with my publisher, and how, despite the volume of prayers to the contrary, contractually I was bound to his presentation of my material. As we discussed the issue, played spiritual catch-up, and shared personal disappointments, we concluded that rest was the issue. I had to rest in the fact that my publisher had the final say. In the end, it came to accepting that, as a citizen of a fallen world, I too am my brother’s keeper and, while I may relish rejoicing when my brother does something good, I also must accept his wrong decisions with love. I must accept that when I look at the church with all it ills, that they are still my brothers and sisters. My Christian publisher was no less my brother than anyone else. As we nibbled on the barbecued chicken and celebrated John’s graduation, we also digested more solidly our need to rest in God. We both were in a season of rest. Resting for me means not rehearsing the wrongs of the situation or the person. It means waiting on God and knowing that the redemption of the matter may not come on this side of glory. More to the point, it also means accepting that God may not do anything about it to my satisfaction, and that the wrong will be used for his redemptive purposes in someone else’s life. Therefore, I learn to wait joyfully. I have learned that in our culture, so much emphasis is placed on achievement and fast pace that resting is just not the norm for us. Once when a company wronged me, I was tempted to pray that the business would go bankrupt instead, the LORD nudged my heart to pray for them. I had to face the fact that I had valued my own comfort and financial restitution more than kingdom living. I repented for my temporal thoughts. I would like to tell you once I prayed that God’s hand moved immediately. It did not. Instead, I became so engulfed in the rest and praying for all the parties involved that the issue of the money and their integrity became a secondary issue to their salvation. Like Joseph, what Satan may have meant for evil, God had turned to their eternal good. In addition, I grew up in the process. I am no longer angry with them; I am just glad that the grace of God stepped in and rescued me from bitterness and unforgiveness that would not have served God’s purposes and, if left unchecked, would have eventually gnawed at my very being. May the LORD Jesus help each of us to rest in him and His purposes. May we see beyond ourselves and recommit ourselves to be our brothers’ keepers such that we can lead our brothers back to the foot of the Cross. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Cheryl R. Carter is an author, speaker and counselor who is still learning to distinguish the facts of life from problems in her own life. She appreciates the work of the Holy Spirit, the love of her husband, the support of her children, and the counsel of godly friends in helping her to gain clarity. Visit www.momtime.net and www.FamilySuccess.org for her speaking itinerary, organizing tips and more articles.
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