Whether you’re burnt out, in need of a break or experiencing stress or overwhelm then discover true rest in and with God.
Perhaps your mind is so full of thoughts and you’re constantly overthinking or worrying.
Maybe you’re thinking, “I just need a holiday, sleep, different job or a change in circumstances.” Or perhaps you think that you have too much to do and haven’t the time to take break or rest.
Can you relate to any of these?
Then read on. I will tell you how you can discover true rest. The type that leads to inner contentment and the comfort and peace you are needing right now. Yes, you can experience this true rest RIGHT NOW!
For the last 6 months the Lord has been telling me to rest. I was working 10 hour days on this ministry and thought I was doing ok at taking breaks and making sure I was sleeping. Then I got ill again with the Neurocardiogenic Syncope and a whole list of health issues. So I cut my working hours in half and made sure to have rest, I was taking naps and made sure to take time out for Biblical Mediation.
I honestly thought I was resting the way I needed to. But still I kept hearing the Lord telling me to rest. I didn’t get what He was trying to tell me. I got sicker and sicker not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. Then one day when I was sitting in A&E (or the emergency room- for the US readers), doubled up in pain so I couldn’t even read and so I prayed. The Lord gave me a beautiful image of a mother holding her sleeping baby. I asked Him what He was trying to tell me and this is what He said;
“The baby is content, asleep, at peace and fully trusts it’s mum to take care of him. The mother is holding the baby and completely loves him, is protecting him and taking care of him. I am like that mother for you and I want you to rest in me like that baby is doing.”
Wow!!!
A few weeks later, I was on a call with my aunt and we were praying. She was praying peace over my body from my toes to my head and I saw a blanket being wrapped around me I then heard the word “swaddled” drop into my spirit.
Swaddled helps a baby to feel safe and secure. It promotes sleep (rest), and pacifies them.
This is how God wants us to feel when we rest in Him.
Discover True Rest
Discovering true rest is to trust God completely. Let go of all worries, concerns and situations and trusting that His has you and your life in His hands. As Joyce Meyer says, “Let go, let God.”
“My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”
Psalm 63:8
“Even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”
Psalm 139:10
Discovering true rest is to accept God’s love for you.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
1 John 3:1
Discovering true rest is to feel safe and secure.
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
Psalm 46:1
“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”
Psalm 55:22
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid.”
Psalm 56:3-4
Discovering true rest is sitting in and being wrapped in His presence.
“And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
Exodus 33:14
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13
So study and meditate on the above verses. Know them inside and out so you can start to believe them in your heart and not just your mind.
Something that I have begun doing is so precious and want to share with you so you can discover true rest with God is this:
Sit or lay somewhere (you can be anywhere) but if possible remove distractions. Close your eyes and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you, comfort you and bring you peace and rest. Imagine you are being wrapped or swaddled by His embrace. Simply sit this way for as long as you like.
In this moment you will enjoy the fruits of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). No matter what situations, circumstances or storms you are in, when you are wrapped in Gods presence, you will discover the true rest that He has for you.
In that place the Lord will take you to that place spoken about in Psalm 23. A place of green pastures and still calm waters. It is here your soul (that may have been downcast, sad, angry, frustrated, anxious even depressed) can be restored. That valley or situation you may be in, He is with you right there. You may want to get out of it, and everything has a season, so hang onto that truth, but whilst you are in that valley, let the Lord resore you and give you the true rest that you need.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
Psalm 23:1-6
Comment below how God has spoken to you today in this post.
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