Resting in God (better formatted)

Resting in God Psalm 62:1-2
1 For God alone my soul (rests)waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.2 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

(v.1: Soul Rest) My soul finds rest in God alone. What are some implications and applications to this truth? If my soul,(the depths of my being), find rest in God then:
1. My (spouse/friend/son/daughter/etc.), doesn't have to be my resting place. The freeing reality of this means that those whom we might be seeking rest in no longer have to be perfect for us. We may not always realize the burden we place on others and ourselves when we expect them to bring us a type of rest they simply cannot.

2. Work or escape from work doesn't have to be my resting place. It won't satisfy, no matter how hard you work, how much you work or how much you avoid your work. Work is good. Rest from work is good. But resting in God is what will nurture our souls.

3. I don't have to be my resting place. I don't have to be perfect to rest my soul in God. In fact I will never truly rest my soul in God if I am pursuing perfection. Christ is my perfection. I am a child of God. He pursued my perfection, my righteousness at his expense. It was his work that saved me. It was his son that brought us in to a deep rest of the soul.

Question: Am I resting in God alone? Am I giving myself time to rest in him and allow him to speak truth and grace into my life?

(My Rock) V.2, "He is my rock...my fortress". God is my strength and shelter. Questions:

1.Am I trying to be my own strength right now?
2.Am I trying to hide in my own shelter? 3
3.Am I standing on the rock with my (spouse, insert________, work, etc) ; in love, in joy,during times of conflict or pressure? 3. If God is my rock, why do I feel the need to plead my case (argue)? If God is my rock why do I live in fear. Why am I passive? Do I feel weak? Do I feel like I need to be right....if God is my rock? 4.Am I hiding in the rush of the current of my emotions or standing on the rock that moves the water aside?
5.Do I need to be affirmed by God or by God and man?
6.Will not every single person who loves me dearly and walks with me, even my enemies who exhaust me....won't they all fail to feed my soul? 7.Am I standing on the rock? Is there something that I perceive to be more valuable than God? Is there something, someone, myself, that I am functionally, daily standing on.....have I made my own rock to stand on? At the end of verse two it says, "I will not be shaken" Is God my rock? Where in my life do I feel unsettled?

(My Salvation) In both v.1&2 it says God is my salvation: How am I trying to be redeemed...or in what area of my life do I need to fix myself...on my terms? Will any of these areas in my life fix my soul, satisfy my heart beyond the temporal moment?

1. My work.
2. My future work, clients, church, etc. (accomplishments in my field of expertise) 3. My wife, does she redeem me? Do I sometimes expect her to? Can she?
4. Can I redeem myself? If I could redeem myself then why would I ever feel the need to redeem myself. If I could redeem myself wouldn't it be more be effortless in some ways? Like brewing a cup of coffee and sitting back and enjoying the morning.
5. Can my friends fix my soul, my heart, my brokeness. They can help, but they can't heal...deeply heal, deeply fix....deeply walk me to the garden where God the Father delights in walking with me.
6. Can my/your children fix you. They bring you joy, tears, pain, delight, but then God asks you to release them. And they are and were never yours and so there is always a marriage of joy and sorrow. Pain and hope. We can play a game where we pretend they are ours and nothing changes. But, in our hearts we know that is not true and the older they get the more we know that while they are a blessing, they can not redeem us. They cannot fix us.
7. Do emails, and letters redeem me? I love to get both. They often affirm areas of our life that encourage us. They also can discourage us. If we don't get the right email or letter from someone, it hurts.I love those rare letters of encouragement. But does that have more to say about me than the people I am waiting for? Good emails/letters or none at all point to a shadow in our hearts, a longing to be redeemed by someone else. We say that these are just small redeeming moments and some of them are. But do they bring me to the throne of God, to the intimate resting walk with God, or just back to myself?

God is my salvation!

So in summary: Nothing else in this world will satisfy my heart and bring deep rest to my soul like God. There is no "functioning rock" in my life that will hold me in the place God wants me to be. Whether seasons of suffering or seasons of joy, God is my rock and my fortress. I shouldn't run from the rock. God alone can fix me. God alone can redeem me. God alone can save be. God is my salvation. Don't chip away at the golden calf when you can rest in the arms of God by streams of living water, Psalm 1:3 These are difficult questions and thoughts for me to process but they are also wonderful for my soul. I hope this helps you as well.