Rest -

Secret Hiding Place: A Bunny Found His. Have You?

Stephanie Asante — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 01:56:06 +0000

You are my hiding place. You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance. Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. Let the weak say I am strong with the strength of the Lord.
Michael Ledner – You Are My Hiding Place

When I was little, I had the opportunity to own a story book specially bought for me. I remember going out on a special gift date with a lovely lady from my church to choose a story book as a gift. Entering that bookshop, I felt like I was in paradise. I was surrounded by all those stories I could dive into. The world of books was a wonder for me and I loved to go there. To be honest, faced with all those storybooks, my choice was for Hercules. Trust me. It was not because of his muscles! Lol.

Even though in my heart, I would have chosen the ‘muscled guy’, the giver got me “Toby Bunny’s Secret Hiding Place.” I can tell you for a fact that I never would have picked that book among the popular ones on sale. It was way cooler to own books on other more popular fictional characters like Aladdin, Cinderella, Snow White and so on than the unknown one I got. Well from my limited perspective as a child. But I love books and so I gladly read it. And perhaps, I got that book for a time such as this. God works in mysterious ways for sure. I read that book so many times too.

The story was pretty simple. I can remember it till this day. It became quite dear to my heart. Unfortunately, my family moved so much in my childhood that I eventually lost it. Anyway, let me get right into it.

We are introduced to a young bunny named Toby who sometimes wishes that he can have some alone time where He can be in solitude. For a little bunny, that is impressive grown up behaviour. One day, he decides to go out searching hard for places he can hide. Unfortunately for him, wherever he went, he found that it was just not right for him. In one particular scenario, he hid under a table yet, his older sisters found him there and tried to play games with him. All his efforts thereafter to find his hiding place were futile. Ultimately, he found a hole in a bush and determined that it was perfect for him. He entered the bush headfirst – happy with his find. Initially, he seemed comfortable there but soon he realised that he was stuck in it. He could not come out on his own. Unfortunately, he stayed stuck in the hole until evening time and that was when he really became afraid.

We are introduced to his father later in the story when he realised that Toby is missing. He found him stuck in the bush late at night all frightened and tired. He rescued him from the bunny-eating bush. lol. The next day, when His dad found out why Toby was hiding in the bush, he showed Toby his own secret hiding place. The story ends with Toby going there often as well to enjoy some solitude with and without his dad.
The End!

I do not know if you enjoyed the story but for me, remembering it makes me smile now. It carries such fond memories of my childhood. And the Holy Spirit inspired me from the story.

A few weeks ago, I learned about ‘rest’ in a women’s fellowship group I am part of. The subject of rest we discussed, reminds me of Toby’s predicament. Like him, ever so often, there are times that we just want to shut the world away. We are looking for a place of solitude where we can find strength and gain perspective. But the places we look for this solitude often falls flat on its face.

We find that the more we want a place to hide, the more exposed we become. Hiding in our jobs doesn’t help. Hiding in an addiction gets us stuck headfirst in a bush we can’t escape from. Hiding in earthly relationships only gets us more entangled in expectations we cannot fulfil. Hiding in food makes us crave even more and more. Hiding in money leaves us with a hole in our hearts even though our pockets are full. Hiding in things never seems enough. And before we know it, it is nightfall and we get lost – alone, and in a dark place we can’t get out of on our own. We want to escape the world through the things of the world yet we become lost in the instability it gives us and the circles it throws us into.

In Psalm 32:6-7, David learned a great thing when he contemplated all of God’s grace and mercy towards him. “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” In the beginning of the Psalm, David remembered how sinful he had been. He recalled how he had tried to hide his sinfulness from God hoping it would be dealt with. But he realised that the more he did, the more he said that his soul dried up within him. He needed a place of rest. A place of cleansing, and a place of restoration. David shares with us how he turned to God and how God restored him. From that, he joyfully declared a truth he had learned – that God was His hiding place. A place to hide from all things and people that sought after his life. A place away from the floodwaters of life. A place away from sin and evil. A place away from anxiety and worry. A place away from fear. In that situation, He learned that a hiding place is our Father – where deliverance dwelt. A place of complete rest.

In our story of Toby, when he was stuck in the bush till night. Hungry and lonely because he wanted a place of solitude, the one who went out to find him and rescue him was his father. And I love the response David also receives prophetically in the next verse after his declaration in verse 37. “The Lord says, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.Psalm 32:8

God never takes His eyes off us. He wishes to show us the best way for our lives. The best path out of trouble. The way of rest. And do you know where that is? It is in Him! When Toby let his dad know why he was hiding in the bush, his father showed him the best hiding place. Right where he was. In a secret hammock that he had prepared. When Toby with his childlike heart and strength tried on his own, he failed miserably. His heart was right but his execution was wrong. When his father stepped in and showed him the place he had prepared for himself, Toby found a secure place to be. And now Toby had the privilege of going there when his father was or was not around to enjoy some solitude.

The story of Toby’s hiding place is beautiful. But we (and by we, I mean children of God) have an even more beautiful story because ours is real. We have a good Father who wants to be our place of hiding. Our place of rest. He desires to be the place where we come and lay down our burdens and take on His which is light and easy. A place where we have peace and joy. A place of love. A place without worry and anxiety. A place to put away the cares of this world and the weights that easily entangle. This place is real! This God is real. His invitation is real. His Son Jesus Christ said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28-30. Your burden is heavy. His is light. Your burden is difficult, His is easy. You are weary, He has rest to give you. Are you still hesitant?

The Father, Son and the Holy Spirit call us to rest in them. To rest in fellowship with them. To cease from all our labours. Are you searching like Toby? Hoping to find that place where you can shed the heavy load and find solitude but it seems elusive? Then look to the Father. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Take comfort in the Holy Spirit. Rest awaits you if you will take the invitation. The call of Jesus is to believe and you will receive. Do you know Jesus Christ? The opportunity is here to accept Him; to take His offer of rest and cease from all your labours. The opportunity is here to find your hiding place.

Please enjoy this wonderful rendition from Selah. Love.

The post Secret Hiding Place: A Bunny Found His. Have You? first appeared on .

Are You Tired? Burned out on religion?

Stephanie — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 17:03:10 +0000

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength
But sometimes I wonder what He can do for me
No great success to show, no glory of my own
Yet in my weakness He is there to let me know
His strength is perfect when our strength is gone
He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on
Raised in His power, the weak becomes strong
His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect
song by Cece Winans – His strength is perfect

My brothers and I nicknamed my dad, Papa Lee, last week among the thousand other nicknames he has lol. This particular one was given him because of his recent fascination with a biography series about the life of Bruce Lee. In case you are a millennial without any clue who Bruce is, this nineties girl will enlighten you in a short Wikipedia history. I actually did not know any of this information until I researched for this article. Lol.

Bruce Lee is a well known name in Hollywood’s hall of fame. For many old school fans of martial arts movies, he is considered the most influential martial artist of all time; developing his own branch of martial arts known as Jeet Kune Do. He was a celebrated movie actor, director, producer, philosopher among other achievements. After a quick read about him, you will like me, conclude that he led a very illustrious life on earth. A quick search online will give you more than enough content to turn this article into a boring or maybe interesting history of a multi talented Chinese/Hong Kong fighter but thankfully, that is not the reason why I’m writing or the reason you are reading this. Lol. So we move.

My brothers and I wondered why my dad was so taken by this particular biography. My dad explained that the character of Bruce was fascinating to him. He described Bruce as an extremely intelligent, focused, talented, arrogant, perfectionist and workaholic who was absolutely brilliant at what he did. I took the time to sit in with my dad in one episode one evening and guess what? It was the last episode. Coincidence or the Holy Spirit? This article is proof of which it is.

In the episode, Bruce blacked out while shooting a movie called, “Enter the Dragon” (name gave me the creeps honestly). I discovered that he had experienced several similar blackouts in previous episodes and these blackouts elongated progressively. According to the doctors in the film, Bruce had by his enthusiasm for martial arts and movie making, stretched his body beyond limit, even to the point where he had no iota of fat in his body. The doctors considered him a walking man of steel (step aside Superman, you’ve got nothing on Bruce). After the diagnosis, following his recent blackout, a recommendation was made to him which we will discuss later in the write-up.

Anyway, right before I fell asleep, the plot of the film reached its climax. Bruce Lee was preparing to act His last movie, “Game of Death” (which also gave me the creeps). I would love to tell you I was awake to catch all the juicy details but I went to La La Land. Later in the night, when I woke and consulted with my dad, I was told death beat Bruce at the game. I was shocked. Bruce was a virile 32 year old with a body of steel before I dozed off. Now he was dead. (well technically he died in 1973). Did he die from an accident? Was he assassinated? Was he poisoned? What caused his death?

No rest.

One crucial thing the doctor told Bruce was that he needed to rest. He needed to allow his body, mind and emotions to take a break, to be treated and to heal. Rest. Although a prescription drug is considered the trigger of the brain edema which killed him, doctors believed it was largely due to a slow unseen breakdown of a system pushed far beyond its limit. He died from lack of rest. And so at a ripe young age of 32, with a final blackout, Bruce expired. Tragic. Avoidable. Yet inevitable.

With this super long introduction, it would be nice to talk about the advantages of taking a long nice vacation to rest on an island just to sip cool coconuts and bask in warm beautiful sunsets. Which is good. But there is a better offer of rest I want to discuss which you can enjoy from the comfort or discomfort of your home (hopefully it is the former).

There are many Bruce Lee Christians. We have embodied religion like steel but we are internally breaking down. Often unbeknownst to us. Unfortunately, the religious machine we rely on will suddenly shutdown because it runs mercilessly without halt. We are doing everything and anything for God. We are playing “the Game of Death- Religion Version.” The spiritual fainting spells and blackouts are warning us that something is off but we have refused to accept what the Doctor is offering. Rest. We are running around feeling superficially strong when our spiritual bodies are clearly protesting the futility of our ways.

On the outside we seem fine. We are clearly doing church. Present in the front seat every Sunday (excluding those reserved for the deacons and elders) even on weekdays and holidays. Singing in the choir. Looking very spiritual. Speaking mighty tongues and lifting holy hands in worship. Fasting 21 days and binding every demon in the milky way. Yet in spite of all these activities, we feel dry. We are sick emotionally, physically and cognitively. We are missing divine realities. We feel at the same time unfulfilled and overwhelmed with life. We cannot seem to grasp the spark of the Faith we so profess. We are aware of how hard we have been trying to live right. We are paying tithe without fail. Eating holy communion. Constantly asking forgiveness for our wrongs. Obeying commandments and fleeing from sin even faster than Joseph run from Potiphar’s tempting wife. Yet still, the spark of our Faith is elusive. We seem strong to the eyes of the world and sometimes even to ourselves. But the yoke of religion is terribly heavy and difficult to pull. Like Bruce, we may suddenly close our eyes and never wake.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matt. 11:28-30

There are many of us Christians that need to revisit this offer from Jesus Christ. Why? Because we have become so lost in our own burdensome works. If you are not a Believer, this offer is also for you.

Hebrews 4 says in verses 9-11, There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their [disobedient Israel’s] example of disobedience.

Why act “the Game of Death”? When we can take the recommended rest presented freely. This is an eternal vacation we don’t pay a single dime for. We receive a rest so perfect and true. The kind that is not centered on a place but a being. The kind that permeates spirit, soul and body. The kind that secures our existence here, now and forever. Rest in Jesus Christ.

He clearly tells us union with Him will present rest for our souls. So if you are missing rest, if your yoke is heavy and burden thick and weighty, then I prescribe a re-examination of whether you are yoked to Christ. He promises freedom, ease and lightness.

How do we enter this rest? Simply by believing in Him as Savior and Lord of our lives. How do we fully benefit? Understanding and accepting to the fullest extent all of what Christ has done for us. I cannot explain how crucial this gift is. It is the best reality of my entire life. I recommend it to you.

You know, Bruce Lee never accepted the doctor’s recommendation. He was convinced he could keep on in the same direction he had previously been. He did not allow the doctors to treat him. He did not allow his friends and family to convince him. He decided to rest after shooting the Game of Death. But death did the shooting instead. He never got to take the rest avidly advocated by those who cared for him and his health. Some might say he is at rest now. Well, that is to be discovered when this life is no more.

Jesus Christ loves us dearly. It is His desire to give us 100% rest in every nook and cranny of our lives. Time and time again, He proffers this precious gift to anyone who would take a second to listen to Him and another second to accept.

What did the Psalmist say in verse 7 & 8 of chapter 95 and the writer in Hebrews 4? “Today when you hear His voice, do not harden your heart.”

Awaken.

I discovered this song as I wrote this and have had it on repeat. Come to an end of your strength and hook up with the perfect strength. Grace upon grace.

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