Rest For Your Soul

Have you ever heard the phrase, “It’s a heart issue”? I have heard it, but didn’t fully grasp it. I think that I get it now, and it seems so straight forward, When you sin, your heart is distressed. You feel off, and you just can’t make it right. You are tormented. Have you ever felt like that? You do something wrong. Your mind keeps replaying what you did over and over again, making it worse each time. What you did is tormenting you. It could be something you said that you regret, or it could be something much more.

“See, Lord, how distressed I am!
I am in torment within,
and in my heart I am disturbed,
for I have been most rebellious.
–Lamentations 1:20 (NIV)

Only you know what is tormenting your heart. The thing is, no matter what you do, you cannot make your heart less disturbed or stop the torment. That sounds even more distressing, but its not. You can bring your torment to God. Tell God what is weighing your heart down. Ask God to forgive you. When your heart is distressed, and you are crying from the sadness and desperation, go to God. Our God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, overflowing with love. Before the sin snowballs into an avalanche, return to the Lord your God. He may stop the avalanche from rolling over your heart and life and make it disappear like a dusting of snow blown away in the wind.

Rend Your Heart
“Even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
–Joel 2:12-13 (NIV)

If you are at a place where your heart is distressed. You are feeling torment within yourself. Your heart cannot find peace and rest. Now, is the time to return to the Lord. Seek the Lord’s compassion and love. Stand where you are. Look at the crossroads. Before deciding how to proceed, ask the Lord to show you the good way. Once you ask, wait for an answer. Then, you have to walk in it. Don’t think that you know better than what God is telling you to do. If you truly want rest for your soul, walk on the path God tells you to walk on. Even if it doesn’t make sense. Even, if you can’t see the end. Even if you have to take one step at a time and rely on utter faith that the next step will appear as you walk. Take that path.

This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
-Jeremiah 6:16  (NIV)

Your heart can never be at peace, unless you ask God to forgive your sins. We all sin. When we do, we have to bring our hearts back to God and sincerely ask for his forgiveness. God wants our hearts. God doesn’t want our hearts to be distressed. God wants our hearts to be filled with love. God wants our hearts to be at peace. God wants to give us rest for our souls.