Exodus 33:14 (ESV): 14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. We are living in crazy - exciting - times. But Gods people need to rest! Im hearing so much anxiety and unrest. I pulled out an old study i did on Promised Rest and felt led to share it with you.
What exactly does REST mean? In a nutshell, it means to cease working, cease struggling, relax, refresh, recover, be silent....be still. In Matt 11:28-29, Jesus beckons us, "Come to me...take my yoke....learn from me....I will give you rest. My yoke is easy, my burden is light." Jeremiah 6:16 tells us to "Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old godly way and walk in it. Travel its path and you will find rest for your souls." So what must we do to find this rest from God? Let's look at the action words in the two verses listed. 1. Come to Jesus - put aside doubt and unbelief. Faith is a decision of the will. Choose to have faith in the Sovereign God and believe that He is fully aware and working on all that is going on around you. 2. Take up the yoke of Jesus. Submit to God's will. Live by the Spirit of God. When you are bound to Jesus, you begin to see the world around you through His eyes. The things of this world lose their control over you. What was once important, loses its appeal. What once caused you fear, you release to God and walk fearless. You begin to see everything in its kingdom value. 3. Learn from Jesus. He lived in a human body. He knows the struggle. He was tempted yet overcame by the Word of God. He suffered great fear in the Garden of Gethsemane, yet surrendered His will to that of His Father - Our Father. He won the victory over death for everyone by his sacrifice. He is our greatest example of how to live this life. 4. Ask God for strength - His grace to overcome and to live according to His will. You cant do it on your own. Quit trying to rule your world. Get down off the throne and let God be God. 5. Walk in it - live out your faith. Walk in the Spirit. Know God's word and how it applies to this life - then act on it. 6. Travel in it means to Proceed, advance, go from one place to the next - glory to glory, higher levels of understanding and deeper relationship with God.
Listen for God's voice - He's talking to His people. Just listen..... Hebrews 4:9–12 (ESV): 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works (weariness and pain) as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience (as Israel coming from Egypt). 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Rest is freedom from; - reasoning - you can't out think God - fear - a demonic spirit that wants to keep you bound. - worry that robs you of life - frustration over things you can't control - inner turmoil that leads to destruction and pain Rest is freedom to: - be confident (a quiet confidence) in God regardless of whats going on around you. - trust that God is in control when your world feels like its falling apart. - enjoy life and do God's bidding with inner joy that words can't explain. Its a joy that confounds the godless world. - do what you've been called to do (share Jesus) amd trust God with the details. So my friend, stop trying to control everything around you. Its time to enter God's rest.
Hear God's Word...
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Allison Pelphrey
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