Let me tell you about a song that came to me in the middle of a trial experienced by a friend and his family. The song is called Rest In Me and it came to me on January 25, 1997. Here’s the story behind the song:
This song originally began as a song for one of my daughters, but it soon became apparent it was for a couple I have already shared about earlier in this series, Elden and Vicki Peterson.
Elden had just come back from a ministry trip to Central America. Before he left he had noticed a lump on his neck but hadn't given it much thought. But back in the states, the lump was still there when he returned. He didn't really think it was a cause for concern, but he made an appointment to see his doctor anyway. After running some tests, the physician called Elden and Vicky into his office and delivered the bad news…that Elden’s lymph glands had swollen due to an invasion of cancer.
I had not known the Petersons very long, but when Elden's diagnosis came, our relationship took on a decidedly more rapid pace toward honesty and intimacy. As the months went by and it became obvious that the radiation treatments were not working, Elden became less and less mobile. For most of his life, Elden have been an outdoorsman, hunting, fishing, playing with his two daughters in the pool, landscaping the church parking area, or cooking a barbecue feast for several hundred hungry men, and now he found himself unable to even walk without help from Vickie.
Because we knew the physical challenges Elden faced, my wife and I were astonished when he and Vicky came knocking at the door one day. Elden walked in and handed us a large plate of chocolate chip cookies he had made. This was his way of saying ‘thank you’ to us for walking with him through the trials of the previous weeks. In our minds, Melinda and I felt we had done very little, but Elden’s gracious, servant’s heart was one of the things the Lord used in his own life to bless his wife and daughters and many others. It also helped to sustain his own spirits when circumstances tried to flood his mind with darkness and despair.
Elden always thought more about meeting the needs of others than he did about meeting his own. For instance, just a few weeks before he went to be with Jesus, I called Elden to see how I could pray for him. At the time, I was preparing to lead a large worship gathering in Oklahoma City, so I told him that several thousand people would also be praying for him that night. His response? “That I might know God's next step for me, and that I might know how to serve the Lord and other people even in my sickness and Dennis, I will be praying for you and for all the hurting people in that place tonight, that others might be set free and saved by the power of God's love.”
In pain and obvious discomfort, Elden had chosen to bless others. I believe God's grace became even more apparent to him in that moment. I led the people that evening in great freedom because I knew I had someone praying for me who knew God's power and love in a deep, profound way. When facing imminent death, we are more prone to shed the masks and games of life and then readily and willingly plunge deeply into the safety and intimacy found in God's arms, in His presence.
It soon became apparent that Elden would not be healed physically. Knowing this, Vicky's grief began even before Elden's death. I was amazed at how she relied upon God's grace to carry her through. To know the one you had spent your life with is dying right before your eyes is one thing; the fact that Elden was only 46 made the loss even more bittersweet. Putting aside your own grief to minister to a dying loved one has to be one of the most difficult burdens of life. As was my custom, I spent time singing my prayers over Elden and Vicky.
One particular evening, I was praying over one of my daughters, grieving as a father does when he learns of a willful act of deceit by his child. Weeping over my little girl, I found myself singing and seeking God's direction and intervention. As I sang, a melody began to pour forth from somewhere deep in my heart. The words seemed to be coming from Father God's own heart toward me. “Rest in me”, I heard him sing. As the words flowed and the melody grew into a complete song, I realized God has shifted my focus from my own need to that of Elden and Vicky. With this new focus I also found new freedom and received a vision of what God was trying to do for the Peterson family in the midst of their battle.
In the days to come, the Petersons turned even more toward God. Rather than blaming Him for their trial, they thanked Him for walking through it with them, and they placed the blame squarely upon the shoulders of the enemy of God, thus freeing their own heart from the despairing bondage of bitterness. Rest came as they allowed God to fight the battle for them.
As the storm intensified, God whispered peace to their hearts. As the weight of the burden that comes with impending death further encumbered their hearts, they allowed the Lord to take the burden upon His able shoulders, and by faith, they let Him carry those things they could not carry themselves. It became more and more apparent that God's grace, His power, was not only present, but that His very presence surrounded them. He had literally become their shelter. The God who made them had not forsaken them. Even when the need for medication became an hourly issue, God met them throughout the night.
What a blessing and what a legacy were built from a life that seemed to be taken all too soon. Death had not won. Cancer had not won. Yes, Elden's body died as his family sang and listened to songs of praise at his bedside, but God ultimately gained the victory because Elden knew that to be absent from his physical earthly body was to be present with Christ. What a celebration his memorial service was. Yes, we shed many tears. But we had a very real sense that Elden's journey had not ended, that just as he knew the fullness of God's peace, we, too, could know that peace even in this life. We committed Elden's body back to the earth that day, but we all left with a keen awareness that Father God was singing a little song over us all.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30 28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30 "For My yoke is [easy] comfortable, and My burden is light.”
Rest is a cessation of work, exertion, or activity. Elden and Vicky have been fighting a battle. Warriors need times of rest to regain their energy for future battles. Through Elden and Vicky's trial, God showed me that He desired to bring both mental and emotional rest to his people. Rest can also include peace, ease, or refreshment. God's presence is a place of peace, and knowing that God is in control brings peace even in the midst of storms. Rest also means relief or freedom from disturbance. In a quiet place, it's also easier to hear a still small voice…you know…the type of tone and manner that God uses to speak to a suffering heart. All of these sentiments and more flood my mind and my soul whenever I hear this song to this day.
Take time to rest in Jesus today. You can hear the song, Rest In Me, using the link provided below.
Dennis Jernigan
Listen to The Dennis Jernigan Podcast version of this teaching and hear the song, Rest In Me, at https://www.patreon.com/posts/rest-in-me-98334964
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