Revolution

Rest-Part 2

Sticking with the idea of rest that I've been studying in Psalm 62, I want to bring out one other idea from the first two verses of the psalm. The writer says, "My soul finds rest in God alone...He alone is my rock...". How does the writer know that rest can only be found in God? How does he know that God alone is the rock of salvation?

Now I'm reading between the lines a bit here, but I think the psalmist learned this by experience. This especially makes sense if it the writer of this psalm is David as many believe it is. Think about David. Great stories of his bravery & faithfulness are found throughout scripture, but sprinkled in there as well are enough stories about his failures to make us realize that he was a lot like us. He too jumped in & tried to fix things. He sometimes got caught up in what he could do, all the while neglecting what God might want to do. The event that serves as a turning point for David in the Bible is just such an event. David screws up & sleeps with another man's wife. When she realizes she's pregnant, David concocts an elaborate scheme that ultimately leads to her husband's death. Great job Mr. Fix-it! David compounded his problem by trying to fix it himself. If David is like us, there are a lot of other situations where he "rested" in his own ability & wound up in deeper trouble than he started out in. Experience taught him a tough but priceless lesson.

Now here's the tension: Are we learning from our experiences? Even better, are we learning from the experiences of other people, like David? After all, wouldn't you rather someone else pay the price for your learning? I would rather learn from the experiences of others rather than have to walk through those dark times myself, wouldn't you?

Life is teaching us; the question is "Are we teachable?"