Resting in the Lord

It's easy to get distracted in our world. Busyness is a modern disease, from which many of us suffer. Rest is its opposite and one of the things the Lord came to offer. In (Matthew 11:28-30) He said:

(Matthew 11:28-30)
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. Take my yoke upon you and receive my instructions. For I am gentle and humble of heart, AND YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light. "

Jesus Christ is the only one who can give rest to our souls. If your soul is in turmoil, if your soul is weary, exhausted and burdened, then you are reading the right passage. JESUS has come to give you rest! You won't get rest when your children grow up. Or when you get married. Or when your bank account grows. YOU'LL ONLY FIND REST WHEN YOU MEET JESUS. ONLY IF YOU LAY YOUR BURDENS IN HIS HAND AND TAKE UPON YOU HIS YOKE, WHICH IS GENTLE AND LIGHT, ONLY THEN WILL YOU FIND REST. As the Word says in Philippians:

(Philippians 4:6-7)
"DO NOT WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN ALL THINGS MAKE YOUR NEEDS KNOWN TO GOD BY PRAYING AND SUPPLYING, WITH ACTIONS OF GRACE, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Don't worry about a thing! YES to nothing! Your children, your work, your health, your sorrows, your finances, your other concerns are all included here. There is nothing excluded in this statement. There is nothing that should make us anxious. And the verse goes even further to tell us what to do instead of being anxious: "but in everything make your requests known to God by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." PEACE!!! To obtain peace, you don't have to finish this and that project or receive the blessing of this and that, but don't worry about anything and unload all your worries on the Lord through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving! It's HIS business to TAKE CARE of you, while you rest in Him. And as you rest in Him you, recharge with power! Let's see what He says in (Isaiah 30:15):

"For thus says the Lord, the LORD, the Holy One of Israel: IN QUIETNESS AND REST SHALL YOUR SALVATION BE; IN QUIETNESS AND CONFIDENCE SHALL YOUR STRENGTH BE."

Our strength lies in RESTing with the Lord. In calm and confidence! This is what I call the RRQC club: Return, Rest, Quietude and Confidence in God. Taking calm, for example, we can see its importance in Jesus' life: He would get up very early in the morning and go out into the desert alone to pray (Mark 1:35)! He needed to remain calm in the Father's presence. We need that too! We don't need to fill our calendar with a hundred activities to keep us going. We won't find strength in activities, but only in stillness and trust in God. It's when our hearts are peaceful and filled with trust that the Lord can be heard through this channel.

Returning to Isaiah in verse 16 we find the people's response before God's lament for return, rest, quietude and confidence, and the Lord's respective response:

(Isaiah 30:16)
"You said, "No, we'll take the horse race!" - That's why you'll run away from the race! - We'll ride light steeds! - That's why those who pursue you will be light. A thousand will flee at the threat of one, And, at the threat of five, you will flee, until you remain as a signal on a mountain top and as a standard on a hill."

These people had their plans on how to get by. You can have yours. You can also say "No, for ...". You can try to work hard and take care of yourself all day. Do you realize the cost? Weakness, fear, anxiety, failure. The more you trust your "horsepower", the weaker and drier you'll become. The only way to gain strength and life and rest is to rest in the Lord. To be quiet and confident in Him. To worry about nothing and unload all your cares on Him. It's the ONLY way!

(Jeremiah 6:16-17)
Delving deeper into our subject, let us now turn to (Jeremiah 6:16-17). In a tone similar to Isaiah, (Jeremiah 6:16-17) tells us:

(Jeremiah 6:16-17)
"Thus says the Lord: Stand in the ways, look and ask what are the old paths, what is the good way, and walk in them; and you will find rest for your souls. But they answer: We will not walk there. I have set sentinels beside you: listen for the sound of the trumpet! But they answer: "We will not.

"The old paths". Return to the OLD PATHS. Walk in the old straight paths and you will find rest, says our God. Return, Rest, Quietude and Trust in God. Enter the RRQC club today. Jesus is the Guide and He will give you REST and peace. It costs nothing to join, except to let go of your worries! You all have to unload them on God and peace will be given to you. What do you prefer? Business and distraction or rest and peace? Drought and weakness or prosperity and strength? Death or life? It really is so critical. The question of rest in the Lord is indeed a spiritual battle! A battle between prosperity and dryness. As (Psalms 37:7) tells us again:

"KEEP SILENT BEFORE THE ETERNAL, AND HOPE IN HIM"

Let us wait patiently for the Lord and rest in Him! Let us NEVER let a foreign seed arise in our garden to touch our tree of barrenness.