Mrs Charissa Andrews
Pastor's Wife
Amazing Grace Baptist Church
O'Fallon, MO
CONTINUAL RESORT
Wouldn’t it be a nice treat if all of us ladies could gather in a plane and take a trip? I was thinking specifically of going to a resort. A private resort, created specifically for each of us. What would your resort be like? I know what mine would be like. I can close my eyes and see it. At my resort I would see white sand that glistened like diamonds. The water would be crystal clear. I would see lush green foliage dotted with flowers that are bright yellow, pink, orange and purple. I can picture my little thatch roofed hut. There is a porch with a rocking chair. Next to the chair is a table with a pitcher full of lemonade; the homemade kind. Alongside the pitcher is a tray with all kinds of fruits, crackers and cheeses. The breeze is gently stirring the long grass that sits as the roof. Tied to the trees right outside my hut is a hammock, and on it lies a soft pillow, light sheet, and a book; a worn, familiar, comfortable book that I have journeyed through many times before. I can smell a mixture of sea salt and coconut. Every once in a while a sweet scent is carried over from the beautiful flowers. I can hear the tropical birds as they sing back and forth. My ears feast on the sound of the waves gently breaking on the shore. I feel the sun’s warmth as it shines its rays. How I love the warmth!! And the warmth mingles with the gentle breeze. I am completely at rest; I’m not fearful, not anxious, not rushed. I don’t have a worry in the world. I feel safe, at peace. I am comforted and refreshed. What a resort!!
Psalms 71:1-2 David is praying and he says, “Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. Be thou my strong habitation, WHEREUNTO I MAY CONTINUALLY RESORT: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.” (Emphasis is my own)
How many times in life have we faced situations that we long to escape from? The stinging words from a friend, the phone call in the middle of the night, the child that chooses to turn from truth, the doctor’s report that changed everything in an instant, the empty chair at your dinner table, the betrayal of someone you loved and the pursuing of the enemy. How quickly our life can begin to feel overwhelming, scary, stormy and unsure. Our God desires to be our CONTINUAL RESORT. He is the place we can run to and be safe. He is peace, and comfort, and warmth, and safety, and satisfaction, and fulfillment. “The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”
I do not own a private island off the coast of Florida (or anywhere else for that matter). But that is okay. Because as nice as the island resort sounds to me, I know storms will hit there as well. The winds will howl, the lightning will flash through a dark sky, the thunder will crack. That grass roof won’t stay put during 60 mph winds. The pitcher with homemade lemonade will shatter to pieces and my hammock with favorite book will be blown, torn, and perhaps lost forever. But God, He can be my CONTINUAL RESORT, even in the midst of a storm.
You know, I enjoy a good thunderstorm every once in a while: IF I am safe inside. I look out the window and see the strength of the storm. The trees in my front yard bend from the gusts, the rain comes down in sheets, and the windows rattle a bit with every BOOM of thunder. I think the part I like so much is the reminder that I am safe. That feeling that even though the storm rages all around me, I am secure. I am safe.
Do you ladies know this song: With Christ as my vessel I can smile at the storm, smile at the storm, smile at the storm With Christ as my vessel I can smile at the storm, until He takes me home
I love some of the definitions of resort: to go, especially frequently or customarily: a place to which people frequently or generally go for relaxation or pleasure, especially one providing rest habitual or general going, as to a place or person use of or appeal to some person or thing for aid, satisfaction, service, resource: resource, a help, an aid, a remedy That. That is what our God is for us. The Creator of everything can be our CONTINUAL RESORT.
I really would like to take each and every one of you ladies on a tropical get away. I’d love to load you all up and on the back window of our bus would be a sign that said, “Resort or bust”. Maybe one day that will happen. Until then, let us practice CONTINUALLY RESORTING in our God. It is His desire as much, or perhaps even more so, as ours.
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