The morning of July 1st 2022 started off dark with heavy rains. At first inkling, I was going to get upset but then I took a moment to remember all that God brought me through the previous year. At that moment I realized that God was washing away the past and ushering me into a new year. A year of REST-WORK. A year that culminated the end of my year of Jubilant Praise.
I have gone through many seasons over the past 38 years. Some good. Some not so good. Some amazing. Some terrifying. Some unbelievable. Some I just couldn’t quite believe. And through it all God kept my mind sane.
My sister sent me a beautiful message on the Biblical explanation of 38. There were 2 things that stuck with me. The first that the children of Israel were wandering for 38 years. They were already wandering for 2 years but their ungratefulness, groans and disbelief in God’s protection and provision made the children of Israel stay wandering in Kadesh Barnea for another 38 years. And this is what I believe my life signifies. Anyhoo, that hit me hard. It helped me understand that I spent these past 38 years wandering around my own life. Feeling directionless while all the time God had a special direction for me that I didn’t see or want to see. In my wandering, I was bratty, threw tantrums and wasn’t satisfied with what I had or had been given. Yet, God never left me. He stuck with me through it all despite my own ungratefulness. And I had many things to be grateful for. I also took way too much for granted. I can self-reflect and look at my flaws while still seeing how far I’ve come in my own life through the grace of God.
The second was the term rest-work. And this is where I will share a little more because I plan to make this the theme for my next year of life. It’s what God has ordained for me to learn and fully grasp so I’m prepared for the ministry work He has assigned to me.
For the one who has once entered His rest has also rested from [the weariness and pain of] his [human] labors, just as God rested from [those labors uniquely] His own.
Hebrews 4:10 Amplified Bible
The number thirty-eight in Hebrew was written with the letters lamed (authority) and chet (inner chamber, including the heart). Thirty-eight is the number of work, or labor. It includes the idea of one’s calling, or life’s work and purpose, for this is the true authority that each one possesses in his heart. If we understood the principle of the “rest-work,” where a person ceases from his own works to do the works of God, then we wouldn’t fight so hard to prove ourselves through works that try to grab the attention or applause of others. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, man works hard for the things of life, whereas with the Holy Spirit, man’s work is a “rest-work.”But it is better to consider the number 38 to speak of the work that one is called to do. Now is the time for my ears to discern God’s voice to hear what work I’ve been called to do.
For the next year I am in rest-work mode. I will make a more concerted effort to cease from working in my own strength to resting in God’s loving arms so I can have ease and truly be able to sit in the joy that I’ve been given. Work only becomes hard and increasingly more difficult when I try to do things how I want instead of allowing God to show me how the work must be done.
It’s been 38 trips around the sun. And the one thing I can honestly say is, I’m eternally grateful I have made that many trips and know what it means to have the love of Jesus in my heart.
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