Rest.

Rest - 20"x20", Acrylic on canvas, Elise Ehrenholz, ©2024.

It seems that God is speaking to me through art. When I'm painting on canvas into my mind pops a word or a phrase. The word comes in the middle of work, or in the beginning, or the end. This time the word was "rest" and it came very shortly after the image of this wee little fawn came to mind. And then I'm like, that’s the title then. It makes perfect sense for this piece. The fawn is the central figure of the painting and is standing beneath an ornate bronze gate in the midst of a glen. There is a nearby waterfall that trickles down to the feet of the fawn so it has a never-ending supply of fresh water. Surrounded by flowers, it is protected and calm in this serene place of joy and refreshment. It surely is a place of prosperity. It was a fawn that I saw in my mind's eye, not a full-grown deer; it was a little deer that cannot take care of itself, by itself. Here it is standing under a bronze gate fully protected, almost fully hidden by the beautiful flowers that surround it, its parent leaving it only for a little while, having been perfectly situated by a flow of fresh water. So the fawn is at complete rest knowing that it will not be left forever. It is utterly content having everything it needs. This word "rest" has been repeated lately in my life so much that I'm really paying attention to it. It's been mentioned by other people who have their own trustworthy relationship with God. It's been a sermon title in a service that I felt that God recently expressly told me to go to. It's come to mind from a podcast episode that I listened to a while ago where podcaster Autumn Miles said that God had specifically told her to rest, and just recently through another prophetic voice. I am hearing it loud and clear over and over. Rest. Rest. Rest. This is how God speaks to me, through repetition, and I always want to be open to hearing what He is saying. It's a good thing, even if I am uncomfortable because His voice is always telling me to lean into something that is good for me. I trust His voice. I trust Him. He's told me to rest and so that is what I'm doing, or not doing as the case may be. It's been an interesting journey this week of me completely stopping what I normally do and leaning into activities that are restful. It feels weird I can tell you to be like, "Oh, I'm supposed to be resting" and then in alignment with that do something completely opposite of what I would normally do at that time of the day. When it feels weird I remember that this is a directional word, not only is it permission to rest, to recalibrate, it's God telling me to pursue it and that demands obedience from me. Clearly what I am working on right now, this blog post, is work but it's something I felt that God prescribed for me today and it brings me joy so it fits under the umbrella of rest to me. It's bringing me life. If you could feel the room. Do I need to refuel? Probably. Everyone does, and God just doesn't speak for no reason. But what's the real why of it? Is there more to it? I'm not totally sure yet. God doesn't always tell us things up front. Whatever happens next, or doesn't happen, this is the walk that we need to be on. The path of pause, the path of leaning in to feel the heartbeat of God. I can tell you that a verse is coming to mind. This is it. "He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." That's Psalm 23:2,3. It's that "He restores my soul" that is being highlighted to me right now because it's always His heart to restore us. How we are like this little fawn. No matter how old we get we need God to take care of us, hide us, set us next to His fresh and living water that ministers to our soul and spirit. May it shower down on us like a waterfall. We need to be quiet and still knowing that we are never forsaken when we are in Christ. He wants us to rest with Him so that He can revive us again and again and forever. One day we will wear out beyond repair on this side of eternity and we will need the renewal that only Christ can bring. We need to be under the blood as they say, marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit that says we belong to God. This is the ultimate rest. Resting from striving, resting from trying to earn our way into the glorious kingdom of God. Trust Him to take care of your today and your tomorrow and your forever, and rest. 

"Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest...." - Hebrews 4:-3

"Today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." - Hebrews 4:7a

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."Romans 10:9-10

"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." - John 6:29

Keep stretching your hands out to God dear hearts. Pour your heart out like a waterfall to Him. The road has surely been rough, but we are mighty in Him. Praise you Jesus. You did it all.

©2024 Elise Ehrenholz