Take Rest For Your Soul

“Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee.” (Ps 116:5-7 AV)

Just because God meets our anxieties and worries with miracles or comforts does not mean we are out of the woods.  One would think that if God helped the psalmist, then his soul would automatically return to t state of rest.  It would be assumed if the LORD dealt bountifully with him, then the writer would be at rest.  Normal logic would say if the LORD tuned the situation of the afflicted, immediately he would have a restful soul.  But the command to his own soul would suggest otherwise. The writer would suggest that even with the LORD’s intervention, there is still some disquietness occurring in his soul.  There is another thought that crossed my mind.  By telling his soul to return to his rest, this suggests that rest is the normal state of his soul.  To return to something thing or somewhere means the place to which one is returning is the normal state in which it resides.  I found this rather intriguing.  Most of all, I find the pattern of the psalmist is to speak to his soul and heart so that he might place them where they belong.  His statement is a challenge for his emotional health to be what it should be.  He is gently rebuking his state of mind and heart so that it can return to where it belongs.  It belongs in rest.

Sometimes we can be so pessimistic that we cannot allow grace to have its perfect work.  We see a blessing, but expect another shoe to drop.  We simply cannot take comfort in what God has done because we are always looking for misfortune right around the corner.  But another way of looking at this is the effect trauma has on the mind and heart.  Many years ago, I was privileged to receive some PTSD counseling training from an Army Chaplain.  He was assigned to a logistical unit in the reserves.  His regular job was as a hospital chaplain.  One of the programs he initiated was an on-call chaplain service made up of local pastors.  It was our job to cover the overnight hours when the full-time chaplain was off duty.  Rev. Waff began the program by training us as he would military chaplains.  We went through several weeks of training before we were allowed to work the floor.  Along the way, there were monthly luncheons that included guest speakers.  These speakers trained us more formally in their area of specialty.  One of those specialties in which Rev Waff handled himself was PTSD counseling training.  Of all the things that I learned as a hospital chaplain, this training had to be on the top.  PTSD counseling has worked well and translated over to other church ministries as well.  The thing about some PTSD sufferers is they will not allow their minds or hearts to get back to normal.  Even when the trauma has ceased and there is no possible way of it ever repeating, they simply will not allow their hearts and souls to be at rest.  These experiences have forever scarred their souls to the point they think recovery is impossible.  This is simply not the case.  For many, if not most cases, life can return to the point that the soul is again at rest.

When we consider the instruction of the writer to his own soul, we might think it silly.  OF course, anyone going through hard times and is released from his trouble would find rest for his soul.  Why would he even have to say such a thing?  Because that is not how we are.  In deep trials of faith, we are often a little shell-shocked.  We can often go through hard times and, knowing these hard times will continue, will not allow ourselves to trust the LORD amid them and let rest reign in our hearts and minds.  There is a need to tell oneself to let it go.  Take comfort in the fact that the current trial is over.  It will not return.  We do not have to wait for the next one.  It will get here in its own sweet time.  In the meantime, let the soul be at rest for God is in the middle of our trouble to comfort us by the work of the Holy Spirit.  He will strengthen us.  He will enable us.  He will lift us by the might of His right hand.  There is nothing to fear for the God of yesterday and today is also the God of tomorrow.  Take rest, dear soul.  God is here and he will bestow the blessings necessary to get through whatever might come.