Finding rest in the Lord

Tonight was the third night in a row where I have decided to just go out on our home's balcony for a bit and just be still...and it's pretty much awesome. But first let me explain why I've started to do this.

Let me let you guys in on a secret--I love movies. For me, it is a mindless activity that I find pretty much relaxing and awesome to fall asleep too. So for pretty much half of my summer so far, I have finished off my day by throwing in a DVD, grabbing my pillow, and heading to the couch for a night-long siesta. I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty awesome at times. But I've started to notice a few things.

1. My relationship with God was getting....I'll just say it dull and lifeless.

2. My focus was drifting more and more toward earthly things.

3. My back was starting to hurt....yeah, it's the random one but I'll list it anyway.

So three nights ago, I decided to change things up a bit. Before I went to go watch my nightly movie, I went out on our balcony and I just sat down. I prayed a little bit but mostly I just sat there trying to quiet everything and hoping my focus would just snap back in place. That night was semi-successful. Last night was a little more. But tonight was the best of all. The sky was clear and the stars were shining everywhere and it hit me, "This is frickin better and more restful than watching any movie!" But it hasn't just been a thing of "Ah, that's beautiful." It's been me coming to a realization (one I'm still growing in) of how great God is! These verses are familiar to most disciples of Jesus, but they take on a new meaning when you are out there at night observing it for yourself.

Psalm 19:1-2
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge."

The whole chapter is frickin awesome but those two verses came to me specially tonight. God has created every stinking star in the sky.....every planet.....every galaxy.....and me, just a 17 year old guy living in the small country of Albania. And just as his creation is declaring the glory of God and proclaiming the works of his hands, so it is my privilege to do the same.

Right now, I'm feeling pretty rested...at peace is a better way to put it, but that shouldn't surprise me. David says in Psalm 62 "My sould finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him."

Peace for my soul...

This is what God has done!