Tag: Rest

Beach Vespers

Scripture
Photo credit: Sasha Martynov

I am blessed to have a close circle of friends, sisters-in-Christ, who I like to refer to as the “Outer Banks Girls.” We were in Bible study together years ago, got busy with kids and careers and scattered a bit, had a reunion in 2011 at Kill Devil Hills, and then reunited more and more often since then. We now go to the beach together twice per year, once in the fall, and once in the spring, for an entire week.

The beach week. It is more than a retreat. It is a time for renewal and spiritual strengthening, as well as a time for rest and getting away from it all. Our beach trips have evolved and now include a time for Vespers sometime after the evening meal. This includes the lighting of a candle and some readings of scripture. I have pondered that few sacred minutes, the meaningfulness of winding down a day this way before the Lord, and I offer this anthology of meaningful words as one pattern inspired by our time at the beach.

Beach Vespers

Psalm 50:1 “The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.” Psalm 113:3 “From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”

(Every Moment Holy Vol. 1, For Arriving at the Ocean) “We have traveled this day to the bounding sea, O Lord, to the far edge of the habitable land, as to the utter end of our own measure and ability and strength, to find here reminders of Your limitless presence extended immeasurably beyond us.” Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?”

(VV, Praise & Thanksgiving) “When I think upon and converse with Thee, ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.” Psalm 98:5-8 “Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together.” (HYMN or Scripture Song here)

So, as this day nears its end, (Valley of Vision, Third Day Evening) “May our conscience be clear, our hearts pure, our sleep sweet! And with the innumerable company who neither slumber nor rest we join in ascribing blessing, honour, glory and power to the Lamb upon the throne, for ever and ever.” Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”(EMH, The Hours: Nightfall) “Here at day’s end we seek You, O King of Earth and Heaven. You have been our sustenance across the sunlit hours. Be now our Counselor, Comforter, and Protector in the dark of night.”

Psalm 141:2 “Let my prayer be counted as incense before You, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Psalm 77:6 “…’Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.’ Then my spirit made a diligent search.” And I find you, Lord! Malachi 1:11 “For from the rising of the sun to its setting My Name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to My Name, and a pure offering. For My Name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.”

(EMH, The Hours: Evening) “Retire now, you children of God, contemplating His words and resting in the peace of the surety of the love He has extended to you in Christ. Know this night the comfort of His Spirit, Who ever abides in and among us,…”

Amen.

Closeness to God

Scripture

I recently reconnected with my best friend from high school years. We met to attend a funeral together on a rainy day in Virginia Beach. Over the last 43 years of my married life, I have only seen my friend maybe 5 times – one or two times when she came to visit me, one time at her dad’s memorial service, one time when I stopped by her workplace, and then this recent funeral.

What struck me about our catching up was that it seemed that no time had passed. We tried to fill in the high school and college memory blanks for each other, but the substance of “real knowing” was still there after all these cumulative years (50 years since high school days). The humor, the lack of pretense, the ease of conversation, and the familiarity were still intact.

God creates intimacy with us by the way He treats us. We may move into or out of fellowship with Him, but when we return to Him, we find that “real knowing” is still there. Isaiah 42:3 (ESV) says, “A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench; He will faithfully bring forth justice.” In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus tells us, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Intimacy with God is a completed circle when we move into fellowship, just like reconnecting with an old and true friend. When we know Him and experience the way He treats us in reality and according to His Word, we find real mercy, grace, slowness to anger, steadfast love and faithfulness. There will be smiles of the heart. There won’t be any pretending. There will be non-obstructed communication. There will be intimacy. There will be rest.

God’s Spirit works to bring us into His precious fellowship. The Gospel lets us know that He will treat us better than we deserve, more lovingly that do our earthly friends, more patiently than our repeated failures should allow, and more gently than are our inept attempts at friendship.

Thank you KP for the reminder of what closeness looks like! Smiles of the heart and no pretense.

Photo Credit: Kim Clayton Lance

A Place to Call Home

Scripture

Psalm 84:1-7 says, “How lovely is Your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near Your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.”

Life on earth is temporary. On our journey through existence on planet earth, it is wise not to get too attached. There is a real home for us that traverses beyond the universe and makes our valleys of despair dissipate into nothing except the road to that home. Gospel hope is about believers being “with” Christ and “at home” with Christ in this present world and the next. Because there definitely is a next.

There is also a “here and now” reality of the Lord’s dwelling place, the place we call home, our nest, our place with Him. The place where we worship Him. The place where we release our faintings and cries. The place where we recharge and experience the autumn rains of the soul. The place where God speaks His loveliness and strength to us. The place where we securely land in the the net that catches us and settles us and draws us close. Where homelessness and loneliness are impossible. With Christ.

One criminal who was crucified alongside Jesus at Calvary simply asked Jesus to remember him as Jesus would pass into His own kingdom and Luke 23:43 says, “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.’ ” The criminal was convinced that there was indeed a place to call home. A heavenly kingdom. With a heavenly Savior-King. Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:8, “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” Philippians 1:21-23 says, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” And I Thessalonians 5:10 says, “He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.”

The Valley of Baka is simply a reminder that our home is truly with the Lord. That our tears point us in the direction of our permanent dwelling place with the Lord. That our pain motivates us toward the living God and His house. That our weaknesses, disappointments and battles with sin only push us into the arms of God Who is our sun and shield. That His tent is the only place to find soul rest, strength for the journey, and eternal destiny in Jesus Christ.

Psalm 84:12 ends with this and so should we: “Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in You.”