Truths that Allow Me to Rest

 


It can be difficult to truly rest. There is more to resting than simply ceasing activity or doing less. Rest is more than being inactive, it is more than being quiet or doing nothing. Rest is not sleeping.  Rest is more than a physical state; true rest is found when you are in a place of peace, being refreshed and restored. I find rest to impact my mind and emotions in addition to my body. I want to share the key truths that I find best support and enable me to rest. When I focus on these truths I can rest amid hardship and stress. There will always be reasons to be anxious and to stay busy. I believe that rest is a choice, a discipline that is critical to our health and wholeness. When I focus on these truths, I can choose to rest:

Rest is necessary and commanded by God. My effort is not the biggest factor in my success. My choice to rest instead of striving is a command of God. My relationship with God is advanced and deepened when I choose to rest and depend more on Him than on myself. I enter rest with the expectation of blessing!

“Cease striving and know that I am God.”  Psalm 46:10

 

I can choose to rest now because I believe God is faithful to continue and complete all that He has begun in me. I remember that the most important things in my life are the works of God: they began with Him and are sustained by His effort, wisdom and power. He is the only one who can bring about completion. I can rest because He is faithful!

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.    Philippians 1:6

 

Even when I rest; God is at work. God sees His divine plan and strategy in the midst of the details and complexity of my life. The burden of figuring it all out is not on me at all! It is God who uses the things in my life to bring about His good and perfect will.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28

 

God’s peace and protection cover me as I rest. I am not alone as I rest. My choice to rest is to surrender every cause for anxiety to God. That surrender brings powerful, pervasive and protective peace. The peace of God is beyond what I can understand, and it fights against the lies that I need to respond, comprehend and strive. I am safe within the protection of God’s peace.

The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:5-7

 

My needs will be met as I rest. I can choose to rest knowing that I am cared for and my future is secure. It is the abundance and willingness of God that secures my current and future provision, not my efforts or abilities.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

 

God is always attentive; He watches over me as I rest. Nothing interrupts or distracts God’s protection and concern for me. He is faithful and vigilant in guarding me as I rest in Him.

He who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.  Psalm 121:3-8

 

God’s love for me is unchanging. I am not earning anything from God, so my worth is not diminished in any way as I rest. My relationship with God is based on His love and desire for me. He gives freely and I receive.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” Jeremiah 31:3  and “‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”  Isaiah 41:10

 

 


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