Repose

Suggested listening: Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, https://youtu.be/DObsJ1PSdnQ?si=jglQROcqg8xiMsf_

What have I to dread, what have I to fear
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
~E.A. Hoffman~

“Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning.”
~Proverbs 14:33~

Repose is a “state of resting” or tranquility, referring to physical rest, mental peace, or “dignified calmness of someone’s appearance.” This reminds me of the words of our beloved Christmas carol “Silent Night,” when we sing about the baby Jesus sleeping “in heavenly peace.” It is a harmony, but it is also a whole rest after a strain of musical notes played in a refrain; likewise, it is our physical rest after physical strain. It is to place your confidence in something, like a lean-to is an extension of a more stalwart shelter. It is metaphorical of a lounging place, a zen-like state where one can cease heavy exertion while waiting, exhale, and lean into a resting phase, to lay down a heavy burden.

In The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese, a “burden stone” was a crude monument set up along the footpaths “allowing a traveler to ease their heavy baskets onto the horizontal slab and rest for a while” (p.29). The laborer would lean onto the stone and lift the heavy load off the head or the back. This powerful metaphor is suggestive of our Father being able to bear our heavy grief as we pass through life. He becomes our burden stone that we can lean into and set our burdens on, so that we can find true repose.

I love how Proverbs 14:33 says that wisdom “reposes” in the heart of the discerning. It reminds me of the Last Supper when John leaned back on Jesus’ bosom. We are invited to lean into him, friends! He is near to us at all times, available for us to lean into Him, to find repose in Him.

There are occasional nights when I wake, and I dwell on Him and pray. Then there is an occasional night when I do everything but. A recent example had to do with my paranoia that the side door (with pet door access) was left open and that the cat was bringing some poor winged thing into the house. Every chirp carried in on the wind through my open window became a tormented creature in my imagination. It would have been better for me to dwell on His precepts and meditate on his promises, to cast off my worry and find repose in Him. I discovered the next morning that the door was firmly latched, and I had spent needless energy on worry.

When tripped up by these annoyances, consider the frailty and brevity of life. Job 14:23 refers to our life as mortals as “fleeting shadows” or “wisps.” So too are these annoyances: they need to be kept in their place. Why waste precious time being occupied with something that does not add value to my day (or sleep at night)?

“Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble.
They spring up like flowers and wither away;
like fleeting shadows, they do not endure.
 Do you fix your eye on them?” (NIV)

We spring up like wildflowers in the desert and then wilt,
transient as the shadow of a cloud.
Do you occupy your time with such fragile wisps?” (MSG)

We are commanded in Psalm 37:7 to “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret.” In my desire to be “Useful” I can sometimes bully a situation into an outcome I want; I work without rest in order to accomplish a desired outcome. Much as a midwife cannot force the birth of a baby, though, so to I cannot force the birth of a vision or control the outcome of a situation; however, if I am quiet and wait on Him, casting my heavy loads upon Him from time to time, perhaps I can be wise and wait for the thing to be born, and blessed enough to be present when it is birthed.

We don’t have to strive or try to figure things out, nor do we have to carry our burdens alone and without help. He is our burden stone, our Jehovah Jireh who can provide for This Thing, in This moment, for This upcoming deadline. As I lean into Him and find repose in His immovable strength, so will He still the raging sea in me and level the ridges of my furrowed brow, softening my hardened heart with His Holy Spirit shower, blessing the work of my hands.

“You answer us with awesome and mighty deeds, God our Savior,
the hope all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas …
who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves …
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders,
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy …
You drench its furrows and level it ridges;
you soften it with showers and bless its crops.”
~Psalm 65: 5-10~

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him
And he will make your paths straight.
~Proverbs 3:5-6~