Lay 'Em Down

One of the games my boys played many years ago was a game called "Civilization;" the object being to actually built a civilization from scratch. All the thinking-through of intellectual, cultural and material development including the progression of arts and sciences as well as the political complexities ... well, it made me wonder why their school grades weren't better! In his book, My Heart Cries Out, Paul David Tripp writes: "I wish I would live with You in view ... But I want my own kingdom. I love my own glory. I define my own meaning. I delight in my control." Those words are what made me recall the game the boys enjoyed - and so do I enjoy this life I foolishly deem "my own." The good diligence with which Believers attend to good health, financial security, building strong relationships, etc. is commendable yet it is undeniable we cannot secure our next breath. All is outside of us, and Tripp rightly concludes: "I know that You are God, and I am not." The continuous restlessness and the skirmish between self-sovereignty and surrender will never cease until we learn to set aside the building and management efforts of our own lives. "We who believe [that is, we who personally trust and confidently rely on God] enter that rest [so we have His inner peace now because we are confident in our salvation, and assured of His power], just as He has said." (Hebrews 4:3, AMP). As Believers, we now rest completely and assuredly in Christ and His finished work. Do you know what a relief it is to lay down those building plans and tools? If not ... lay 'em down and rest.