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"In God Alone" - finding rest

Writer's picture: DNDN

Updated: Feb 29, 2024



How would you define the word “rest” – perhaps a nap, a good night’s sleep, or maybe a long vacation from life’s pressures? The dictionary calls it “a period of relaxing or ceasing to engage in strenuous or stressful activity,” and we know that rest is essential to our overall well-being and productivity. Surprisingly, it can also be used to describe an action, meaning: “to cease work or movement, sometimes in order to recover strength.”


In Psalm 62:1, King David is speaking of a deep inner rest when he writes, “Truly my soul finds rest in God.” The original Hebrew uses a repeated word at the beginning of several of the psalm’s verses which is closer to the English word “only,” as in the Contemporary English Version translation: “Only God can save me, and I calmly wait for Him.” Amidst the life-threatening trials and inner restlessness that he acknowledges in the following verses, David lays hold of a never-ending source of peace through his relationship with God and his identity in God, which will carry him through this overwhelming and turbulent moment of his life. In the Amplified Bible, the first verse reads, “For God alone my soul waits in silence,” and in The Passion Translation, “I stand silently to listen for the One I love, waiting as long as it takes for the Lord to rescue me.” To further reinforce the idea of rest, the word “Selah” appears twice in the poem, allowing the reader time to pause and reflect. The peace, security, calm, and abiding trust expressed in this psalm far surpasses any of our standard human solutions for physical or mental weariness.


All of my songs flow from an ongoing relationship with the Lord, each one marking a significant moment on the chronological map of my earthly journey with Him. “In God Alone,” which includes a verse of the beautiful hymn, “Be Thou My Vision,” is a simple vocal and instrumental meditation borne out of the personal lessons I have been learning through Psalm 62 over the past few years. As God has continued claiming His rightful place on the throne of my heart, He has helped me release places of human security or identity, reminding me that I am first and foremost His child. Through recent geographical relocations and all that comes with starting over in new places, the transition from music as my occupation to ministry-related vocation, vastly different employment experiences and environments, a longer-than-planned job hiatus, and His hand at work in relationships, I am learning (and relearning!) that in order for Him to work through me, I must first allow Him to work within me.


Each moment of surrender reminds me of a move in Jenga when you hope that the whole tower won’t tumble as that one piece is removed, or as if I am losing my safety net. “No problem,” I think to myself, “I still have a backup safety net below that one”…and then He removes the next piece! It may seem as if the bottom is falling out, but underneath all of my past and present human identities, my foundation in Him is the unshakeable and rock-solid “ground floor” of my life. When all else is stripped away, the anchor of peace and rest is found in my truest and eternal identity: I am a child of God, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. This is my ultimate security, where I truly find rest, as David says, in God alone. This is my home!


The coming of the promised Holy Spirit has allowed every believer’s heart to become a temple for the presence of God, and as beloved children of God, we have access into a deep and abiding rest in our souls where we can know a peace and calm above outward changes and the fear of the unknown. When we put our trust fully and completely in God, we build upon a foundation that can withstand all earthly changes, transitions, and circumstances. Regardless of what is happening in your life or whatever you may need to let go of along the way, may you know the complete and total rest for your soul that can be found “only” in the security of God’s love.


Psalm 62:7-8 says, “My salvation and honor depend on God, He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” We can pray in the words of this old Irish hymn: “Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart…Thou my best thought by day or by night, waking or sleeping, Thy Presence my light.” Peace and rest from God to you!


("In God Alone" can be found on the album, "In God Alone")


Many Old Testament scriptures communicate a similar sense of rest, comfort, and contentment regardless of circumstances: “You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts and takes refuge in You” (Isaiah 26:3); the familiar words of Psalm 23: “I shall not be in want…He restores my soul…I will fear no evil”; and Psalm 46: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging…The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jacob is our fortress…Be still, and know that I am God.”


In the New Testament, Saint Paul describes a “peace that passes all human understanding,” and Jesus says, “I leave the gift of peace with you – My peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but My perfect peace” (John 14:27).


May His peace fill your heart and give you rest!

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