With. 

I am always with God and He is always with me. That means true rest. Whether I need physical and mental rest after a busy season, or simply to abide in the spiritual rest of my relationship with God, I can do that. My deepest need—to be united with my Creator—has been met, whether I’m in a coffee shop reading or in a South Asia church service watching the bomb squad enter with search dogs. 

In that particular circumstance, our church was waiting to find out if a bomb had been planted, knowing only minutes before other bombs had gone off through the city, injuring and killing several people. A man with blood trickling from his head ran into the worship service to warn us about a bomb that had just exploded in his church only a few miles away. Then the police came and told everyone to remain still and wait until we could be evacuated. 

I’ve always known feelings of rest in the relaxed atmosphere of a coffee shop, but was surprised by them while waiting to be told whether I was in the same room as a ticking bomb. In those moments, I was keenly aware of my unchangeable position as God’s daughter. The peace and rest emanating from my heart were indescribable delights as I silently worshipped God for my eternal union with Him. Whether I lived or died that day, I was with Him and He was with me. 

A few weeks ago, I felt at rest with God and my friends as we drove through the mountains together, laughing. Then one week later, weeping and remembering the miscarriage of my son four years earlier, I clung to my soul’s anchor: my rest with God.

In the flux of changing circumstances and emotions that is life in this world, God has given me peace and rest through the unchangeable reality of being united with Him forever in Jesus.