In the Beginning...

When most people think of the word adventure, they think of things filled with action, exploration and excitement.  When those same people think of rest, they may think of still, sleepy things.  I would challenge them to consider that  

some of the best adventures 

                                                   happen in a place of rest.

I first came to Ireland on a holiday from Uganda.  I was in a place where I was desperate for two things, Christian fellowship and rest.  Because of a lot of the challenges I was facing with my work in Uganda, I was broken and raw.  I knew I needed some space to breathe, to pray and listen to what God would say.  Going to Ireland, even for a holiday, felt too frivolous.  When I finally decided to go to Ireland for the visit, it was because my own emotional welfare demanded it.  I had finally become desperate enough to obey God's call to rest.  That visit ended up being one of my greatest adventures.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,^[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”  ²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
 ²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
    ²⁹ Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰ And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
    ³¹ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.  
¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
 ² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.       -- Genesis 1:27-2:3

We know God considers rest as in important part of life, even from the very beginning of creation.  We see Him model this at the end of all His labours.  However when we look at man's place in this passage, we can see something very interesting.   Man's first day was God's seventh.   
                                Man was born into rest.

I imagine Adam, entering into his existence with the breath of God, being awakened not as a baby, but as a man into a world filled with the creation of God.  God had said it was his to live in and to tend, to oversee.  Can you imagine exploring the world God had given, tasting the fruits and naming the creatures?  I wonder if he laughed with joy as he marveled.  This was adventure.

As one who finds so much peace by just being in nature, my visit to Ireland was an amazing exploration of God's creation.  I was everyday meeting new people.  God was speaking to me about His plans for me.  At first I struggled to accept them, actively rejecting the notion, but when I surrendered to the idea that this was where God was calling me, I became overcome with excitement.  There is nothing like a transcontinental move to get your adventure meter into the green.  Mostly though, I was finding adventure in the time alone I was having with God during this time of rest.  He was showing me things about myself - wounds that needed healing, gifts He wanted to develop in me, and faith He wanted to stretch.  
In my rest,  
             I found adventure.

Last week, I wrote about God's river, and finding rest in His current.  When we surrender like this, we can hear God so much more easily, but it goes beyond just that.  When we are totally dwelling in His rest, imagine what great adventure we may have!  Action, exploration, and excitement are pretty much guaranteed... 
Are you ready to dive in and let Him take you on an adventure in rest?

check out more on the topic of rest by joining our JAM Session at Bonnie's