Too Restless to Listen

3.12.11

“It just so happens” that God knows that music speaks to my heart.

The other night, I was saying goodbye to some people I love in a parking lot after a meeting, and as I was putting my car into drive, my friend held up his pointer finger signaling “wait!” I put my foot on the brake, rolled down my window, and waited for him to approach my car. He was very excited about sharing a cd with me, and eagerly said, “Listen to #5”.

A couple days later, I popped the cd into my laptop, and selected track #5, which “just so happened” to be called “RESTless”.

“You dwell in the songs that we are singing
Rising to the Heavens
Rising to Your heart
Our praises filling up the spaces
In between our frailty and everything You are
You are the keeper of my heart

And I am restless
I’m restless
'Til I rest in You
‘Till I rest in You
(Oh God I wanna rest in You)

Oh speak now for my soul is listening
Say that You have saved me
Whisper in the dark
'Cause I know You’re more than my salvation
Without You I am hopeless
Tell me who You are
You are the keeper of my heart

And I am restless
I’m restless
'Til I rest in You
‘Till I rest in You
Oh God I wanna rest in You

Still my heart
Hold me close
Let me hear a still small voice
Let it grow
Let it rise
Into a shout
Into a cry

And I am restless
I’m restless
'Til I rest in You
'Till I rest in You
Oh God let me rest in You”


Luke had no idea that God has asked me to learn about REST in 2011. BUT God knew that He could use an ordinary person in my life to pass on a song that would speak to me.

I want to REST in You, Lord. Let me REST in You.


It seems that part of REST requires listening. Part of listening requires silence aka “not talking”.

God “just so happened” to use another ordinary person to speak to me a few days before I received these telling lyrics. It all started when I began explaining to Jeff how difficult the past 2 hours had been for me. Since October of 2008, I have been spending time with some wonderful people who have HIV/AIDS. There are two guys that have been at the house all along, but periodically there are new individuals that come to live there. This particular day, there was a new gentleman who was extremely talkative. I am not joking when I say that he talked for 2 hours straight. I couldn’t get a word in, which is pretty atypical for me. By the end of the night, I was completely worn out. After I told Jeff about the experience, he said that had happened to him once, and in the midst of the homeless man’s never-ending story, Jeff felt the Holy Spirit gently nudging him saying, “Look in the mirror”. Instantly, I knew that God was saying the same thing to me.

I love to pray BUT I love to talk. My prayer life is full of thanking, praising, petitioning, intercession, but rarely if ever, do I listen for that still small voice.

“It just so happens” that Lent was right around the corner of these interactions. I had been asking God to show me what He wanted me to do for these upcoming 40 days. He showed me. He wants me to listen, so I can REST in Him. So I have decided to fast for a meal once a week and spend that time in silence, listening for that still small voice. That may seem like peanuts to some, but for me, it’s a small step in the right direction of learning what it means to REST.

God, I want to REST in You. Help me to listen. Help me to hear You.