ti-dingz Blog
Finding Rest
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.’”
Jer. 6:16 (NIV)
I often think of life as a journey and we are all walking along this huge road. There are many smaller roads or pathways leading from this road.
Some of the people following the pathways have a destination in mind, others are wandering aimlessly.
Life has many seasons
On our journey through life, we will have many experiences, good times and bad.
We will have mountaintop experiences with love, family, and friends. We will also travel through deep valleys – times of immense sadness or sickness.
There will be quiet streams – peaceful times when life just flows along. Other seasons will be like being in a river which is a raging torrent, and everywhere we look there are storms brewing and trouble on the horizon.
We may find ourselves in a dense forest that we can’t seem to find our way out of. On other occasions, life will become like a treadmill, monotonous and boring as we just go through the motions of life.
Then there will be occasions when our path will seem to be going ‘round and round’ in circles because we are just not learning the lessons of life we ought to. Other times we will become stuck, as if in mud, paralysed and unable to move on.
Stop and take a breath at the crossroads!
Without a doubt there will come a time when we find ourselves standing at a crossroads. It seems like there are arrows pointing in numerous directions and we are not sure which path to take.
This is a time to stop, reflect, and pray before a decision is made on which route to take for the next leg of our journey.
If we do not stop at the crossroads and take stock, we may never make it to our destination. Some signposts may have destinations that delight, but are they the ‘good road’?
The roads that lead to these may initially appear easy, but only God sees the road beyond our vision.
Finding the 'good road' - the eternal path!
God tells us that when we get to a crossroad to ask for the ancient (ō·läm) path, which translates from the Hebrew ‘eternal’ path.
Jesus said, “Difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt. 7:14 NKJV).
The easy road is not always the right road. We can look at a path that seems wide and easy, and many of our friends may be travelling this road, but the road we must follow is often ‘difficult’.
As Christians we can make the grave mistake of thinking that life should be easy. New Testament authors portray it as challenging, at the least, so we cannot confuse hardship with being on the wrong road. Jesus said, ‘In this life you will have tribulation’. It does not say you may, or you might, but that we will all face troubling times.
In this lifetime there will never be a permanent state of bliss. Therefore, we must be able to navigate the highs and lows of life.
We will all have to face and traverse different trials in life, and we can be guaranteed that when we get through one challenge there will certainly be another just around the next bend.
It’s not about what happens, it’s about how we deal with it.
Where are you on your journey?
Are you still travelling on the road that leads to life, or have lost your way?
The prophet Jeremiah spoke a warning; he called the people to return to the former days when they loved their God. If they returned to Him, they would find rest.
We too can be like the Hebrews and find ourselves standing at a crossroad.
Finding rest amid hardship
Jeremiah’s instruction was to stand, look, ask, and then walk. We are to stop and look for the path; seek God until we find it, and then step forward and start walking.
The result is rest for our souls.
When we are on the road to eternal life, things are not always easy, but our soul can be at rest. It is a peculiar thing to endure hardship and at the same time be at complete rest.
If you cannot seem to find rest amid your circumstance, seek God and ask Him for His path.
Entering God’s rest means to stop striving. It’s a place of relief or freedom from anything that wearies, troubles, or disturbs us – it’s a state of mental calm. That’s because God shows the way when we stop and ask.
Share the pathway to life with others through gospel tracts
If you want to help others find peace amid difficult times, take a look at our ‘What’s In Your Cup?’ gospel tract. It’s a great tool to bring encouragement and spread the Good News.
Blessings,
Deb and the ti-dingz team