19 Be at Rest

I was loading my pictures up on a website and it was just taking too long. In the past, I’ve opened other browsers to see if I could upload it three times as fast but that just gummed up the project, overwhelmed the computer and shut everything down. There was 3 things trying to do the job of 1 thing and the use of internet speed was decreased. The poor thing couldn’t keep up.

Sigh

My computer just doesn’t work fast enough

I was putting together little packages for the puppies that we had, so they can go home with their things, but it just wasn’t coming together fast enough. I was frustrated.

Grrr.

I’m just too slow.

The biggest hurts in my life, where uncaring people are dictating huge parts of my life, just isn’t changing. Depending how I play it in my head, it seems to get worse (in reality, it doesn’t change much from day to day right now, it’s just how it goes down in my mind). And I am thoroughly going between sheer terror/worry to deep sadness, depending on my mood. I want it to change NOW!

Hmmm…

Maybe that’s NOT the problem.

The Back Story (Gen. 6)

Noah was living in desperate times. Evil was everywhere and people were giving in to every whim that went through their minds. Those whims were laced with every evil thought imaginable. (having a hard time picturing how bad it was? just watch the news today, multiply that and put it in your back yard!)

Here is where we all have a hard time understanding what really was going on, the account of Noah says that there were giants in the land (ok, sure, unusually large people, bullies) and there sons of God were mating with humans. (I’m not even going to comment on that.)

God was “done” with what was going on here on earth. The stench of evil was too much to tolerate. He made a decision to wipe out all living things and start again. He saw that Noah was righteous and was going to save him and his family. God did just that.

The flood water consumed every bit of the earth, and all living things, except that which God set apart (pairs of animals, and Noah’s family). God did give an open invitation for anyone to be saved, but they mocked instead, and were destroyed.

Thoughts

Noah’s name means “rest”. Noah had to have rested in the words of God, during the 100 years that it took him and his sons to build the huge floating zoo.

The thing I want to focus on here is the word “peace” – in Hebrew, it’s Shalom. The Bible was written in an ancient language called Paleo-Hebrew, with symbols (not letters). When they wrote words, they didn’t put any vowels in their words. So the word Shalom looked like this:

Each of the letters have a name. They read the words “backwards” as compared to how we read English. So they start with “Shin” on the right and read towards the left.

Don’t worry this will all be important soon.

The 4 letters that make up the word are:

Shin/Sheen – meaning to destroy, consume, and teeth (for ripping)

Lamed – implying shepherd, leadership

Vav – meaning to secure, stake

Mem – huge water, chaos

So, when you put it together, the meaning of Shalom means that the Shepherd who is secure and immovable (Jesus, vav/nail as a reference to his death and resurrection) will consume, rip apart and utterly destroy the chaos.

Basically, he eats chaos for breakfast so you can have peace all day!

Just like the water consumed the whole earth, in the days of Noah, Jesus has the ability to consume all the chaos that is coming against you and me.

Jesus calls us sheep. If the little sheep were to be worried about fighting wolves and coyotes everyday, all day, they would never eat the banquet of grass set before them. (Isaiah 53:6) It’s through trusting the shepherd that we get to be at peace (shalom), eat and lay down to rest (noach) or drink at the brook of calm water (Ps. 23) .

What deep waters are threatening to consume you?

What waves are going over you threatening to drown you?

What does Jesus want to tell you about His peace and His living water? How does He want to make it real to you?

What promise has He made you?

Can you choose to trust? Even a little bit?

Let Jesus be the living water to you as he consumes the chaotic waters around you. He wants to trade waters with you.

Regardless if your computer is wonky, or you can’t make puppy packages or you are having a hard time with people in your life, you (more like, I) can strengthen yourself in Jesus by listening and believing in what He has promised. Then rest and be at peace.