My soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Ps. 62:5-8 (NIV)
Heavenly Father, nothing compares with the rest we have, being certain of your great love for us. No more wrestling with “he loves me, he loves me not”—for we now live in your permanent favor and unwavering delight. Jesus is our Sabbath Rest and Year of Jubilee; our mighty rock and loving refuge.
Our honor and hope come from you, Father. They’re not based on what people think or say of us; neither are they determined by our productivity or usefulness. Indeed, our honor and hope aren’t connected to any scorecard, measuring stick, or annual review. Our standing in grace is inviolate, our rootedness in your love is deep, and hiddenness in Christ is complete. Hallelujah!
Father, make these truths more real to us than our next breath. In fresh and palpable ways, be our refuge, rest, and hope. We want our correct theology to be our transforming doxology; our gospel-informed minds to be grace-enflamed hearts. We long to be freer, much freer. Free us to live from the riches our rest, and less from the restlessness of our stress.
We want to shake off slights, barbs, and quips quicker. We’d love to be more comfortable with unresolved issues, and the unhealed parts of our stories. Grant us longer fuses and shorter memories, in response to the failures of others and disappointments of our day.
May your mercy tame our traumas, and your love sabotage our unbelief. Bring your grace to our frayed edges, messy stories, and yet-to-be known outcomes. It’s a lot, Father, but we want all of these things. Thank you for being so generous and able. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ mercy-full and trust-worthy name.