“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; My hope comes from him.”  Psalm 62:5-6

Are you truly resting? At times life can be so overwhelming. It seems like there is always so much that needs to be done. Meetings, projects, family responsibilities and so many commitments that it seems that everyone and everything is pulling you all at one time. What do you do?

We ask ourselves, “How does one person accomplish so much?”, and “How can I manage to get it all done?” The pressure to meet deadlines and reach our personal and professional goals can be stressful. We tend to confide in our friends, meet with our mentors, or counsel with those in the faith, and although those are great resources they seem to only act as a band aid. At the end of a long day when you fall asleep, you wake up the next day only to find that you got no rest and you’re wondering – what is going on?

Psalm 62:5-6 says to “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” When we take all of our cares, concerns and burdens to the Lord and leave them at His feet, only then can we find that the heaviness on our hearts and the weight on our shoulders are removed. You see, there is a rest that only comes from our Heavenly Father. When you need God’s peace and you can’t seem to find your way out of anxieties path, find solace in praying this Psalm.

In September 2013 my family and I moved to Denver, Colorado from Indiana. On September 23, 2014 my world was torn apart when my husband of 13 ½ years died of a sudden heart attack in my arms. After his home-going, I had to return to work and was expected to perform at the same level. I was now a single mother of two boys and I had no plan B. He and I had planned on growing old together. Grief counseling helped but friends and family could not console me. No one could touch the level of pain I felt. It seemed like only death itself could bring relief, or at least that is what the enemy wanted me to believe. But we serve an AWESOME God!

My tears could not express the level of pain that I had to endure. My doctor prescribed sleep medication because I could not fall asleep and when I did fall asleep, I was not able to rest because memories of that day replayed in my mind like a movie projector.

Time has passed now and God has healed me and my children. We are hopeful, we laugh, we think of Him often, we’ve moved on. The Lord has helped me realize that his death is not a tragedy. The bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:8 “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” My husband is in heaven with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, so he is better off than me and he’s beat me home. He would want me to go on with my life because the ministry and call God has for me is not complete. Now, I get it!

I told the Lord that I couldn’t carry the pain and burden anymore. He never planned on me carrying the weight from the beginning. I went to church one Sunday and the Pastor had an altar call.  I went down to pray and when I walked away, that weight and heavy burden was gone. I felt hope, something I hadn’t felt in months. I was able to sleep and when I awoke I felt rested. I am able to stand on God’s promise in Psalm 62:5-6 that our souls can have rest in God alone. He is a healer. So now, when I feel overwhelmed and full of anxiety, or I have no peace in a situation, I get alone with the Lord, I become quiet and I find rest in Him.

(Written by Tanika Chere Edmonds, NHiM Ambassador)