Lessons in the Time of Preparation: Learning to Rest in Him
This was a pretty straightforward lesson. And yet, sometimes I think this is the one I have the most trouble with, simply because I find it hard to find the time and environment to do so. Granted, that is entirely no excuse and God did tell me that I keep distracting myself from Him, so....I really have no excuse, and I am trying to do better.
I was having prayer time with my Father, and I clearly heard Him talking to me about rest.
"You have gotten tired, my child. That is why I told you to rest in me."
"Why then, when you are tired, do you not rest? You are distracting yourself from me."
"My child I am here waiting for you, come rest."
That was pretty straight forward. And, He kept putting the theme of "rest" into songs that came on, or Bible verses, or sermons, etc. Because God speaks to us through everything and anything!
I decided to look into more verses on rest. Here are a few of the ones that really struck a chord in my heart.
Exodus 33:14
"And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." God's presence is our rest, even if we don't find ourselves in a very restful environment. He is always with us, so we need to only rest in Him no matter where we are.
I also noted that, for example in Numbers 9:18 and 23, God told the Israelites when to rest and when to journey. Sometimes I think we (at least, I!) tend to want to always be journeying, but while in a time of preparation, sometimes it is necessary to listen when He tells us to just be still and rest for a while as He prepares us for the next time of journeying.
Psalm 116:7
"Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee." Amen to that! God is so indescribably good, and bountiful in blessings - so why wouldn't I be content and rest in that knowledge?
Isaiah 30:15
"For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; in returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not." Uh-oh, the Israelites must've been refusing to behave again ("and ye would not"). Sigh...but doesn't that sound like us? We find saving grace and restoration when we simply return to Him and rest in His presence. We are like re-chargeable batteries - God is our source! We are not the energizer bunny that goes and goes and goes....we like to think we are, but let's be honest: our hectic rushing around in our day-to-day lives, our distractions on technology and even family and friends, drains us. We need to return and rest, so that we will find strength again through Him.
Matthew 11:28-29
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." This is a very familiar verse, one that we often use as though speaking to non-believers. I feel like we never apply it much to ourselves - at least, I don't always. Humans often work too hard, especially at things that don't matter, and think we can do everything in our own power. God just wants us to rest in Him and let Him take care of everything! We need to work most on our souls, which is why we need to consistently rest in Him.
Hebrews chapter 4 is basically all about rest in God, and it would probably take a whole nothing post just to examine that, so I suggest you read the first part of the chapter yourself and see what you can learn about rest!
And then, when I realize how important it is and begin to rest, Acts 2:25-28 sums things up nicely. "For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance."
And He has indeed! There is nothing more comforting than resting in the presence of God Almighty, our Savior, Redeemer, and Lover.
I was having prayer time with my Father, and I clearly heard Him talking to me about rest.
"You have gotten tired, my child. That is why I told you to rest in me."
"Why then, when you are tired, do you not rest? You are distracting yourself from me."
"My child I am here waiting for you, come rest."
That was pretty straight forward. And, He kept putting the theme of "rest" into songs that came on, or Bible verses, or sermons, etc. Because God speaks to us through everything and anything!
I decided to look into more verses on rest. Here are a few of the ones that really struck a chord in my heart.
Exodus 33:14
"And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." God's presence is our rest, even if we don't find ourselves in a very restful environment. He is always with us, so we need to only rest in Him no matter where we are.
I also noted that, for example in Numbers 9:18 and 23, God told the Israelites when to rest and when to journey. Sometimes I think we (at least, I!) tend to want to always be journeying, but while in a time of preparation, sometimes it is necessary to listen when He tells us to just be still and rest for a while as He prepares us for the next time of journeying.
Psalm 116:7
"Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee." Amen to that! God is so indescribably good, and bountiful in blessings - so why wouldn't I be content and rest in that knowledge?
Isaiah 30:15
"For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; in returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not." Uh-oh, the Israelites must've been refusing to behave again ("and ye would not"). Sigh...but doesn't that sound like us? We find saving grace and restoration when we simply return to Him and rest in His presence. We are like re-chargeable batteries - God is our source! We are not the energizer bunny that goes and goes and goes....we like to think we are, but let's be honest: our hectic rushing around in our day-to-day lives, our distractions on technology and even family and friends, drains us. We need to return and rest, so that we will find strength again through Him.
Matthew 11:28-29
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." This is a very familiar verse, one that we often use as though speaking to non-believers. I feel like we never apply it much to ourselves - at least, I don't always. Humans often work too hard, especially at things that don't matter, and think we can do everything in our own power. God just wants us to rest in Him and let Him take care of everything! We need to work most on our souls, which is why we need to consistently rest in Him.
Hebrews chapter 4 is basically all about rest in God, and it would probably take a whole nothing post just to examine that, so I suggest you read the first part of the chapter yourself and see what you can learn about rest!
And then, when I realize how important it is and begin to rest, Acts 2:25-28 sums things up nicely. "For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance."
And He has indeed! There is nothing more comforting than resting in the presence of God Almighty, our Savior, Redeemer, and Lover.
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