Rest for the Weary

Psalm 103

Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

My dad is an airline pilot, which means, as a kid, we drove everywhere! Sixteen hours from New York State to northern Wisconsin. Sure, why not drive that in a day? I remember one Christmas trekking to the dairyland yet again to visit my grandparents, except this time, instead of leaving early in the morning, as we usually did, we left late in the afternoon. This meant that most of the drive happened through the night.

Now, being the oh-so-gracious 12-year-old that I was, I grumbled and complained throughout the night that there was no room for me to stretch out and fall asleep. I couldn’t sleep. I was tired, and very grumpy. And when my dad later suggested that I move up to the middle seat in the center row of our Suburban so that he could rest in the back row for a couple of hours to take a break from driving, I absolutely threw a fit. How dare he make such a suggestion. Didn’t he understand that I was tired?

And honestly, to this day, I’m not sure how I won this battle, but my dad let me have the whole back row to myself, while he squished in the middle row with two of my brothers while my oldest brother drove and my mom slept in the front seat. I sprawled out in the backseat, comfy as could be, and probably unlike my dad, I slept.

My dad was probably more tired and grumpy than I was. My dad would soon have to drive again. I would not. He deserved to have my spot. But he looked at me, his child, and showed compassion. He viewed my needs as greater than his own. My disrespect, inconsideration, and entitled attitude were immediately forgiven and cast aside because of my father’s love and desire to care for me as his child.

Similarly, maybe you are tired. You’re worn down from the mental and physical burdens of school, your job, parenthood, your ministry, grief, or other life demands and hurdles. Or maybe you’re burdened by the sin you carry—the sin you can’t seem to shake on your own or you're too ashamed to confess. You’re tired of the doubt you’re wrestling with and wondering week after week why you still show up to church.

But the hope we can hold onto in this Lenten season as we long for Easter is that God is a good father who shows compassion to his children (v. 13). He knows when you are tired. He knows when you are weak and fragile. And he knows this because he knows you—he knows you more than anyone else does or ever could (v. 14). You are his child.

And because you are his child, he wants to show you compassion. He wants to give you good gifts. So much so, that he sent his one and only son to take on the sins of the world on the cross. And three days later, he rose again from the grave, conquering not only death but sin as well. Your sins have been cast away as far as the east is from the west (v. 12). So rest in the love of your father, who has picked you up, redeemed you, and crowned you with love and compassion as an heir with Christ (v. 5).