Rest is power. Rest is a sword. It is one of the greatest tools Christians can use against the enemy.
When most hear the word rest their mind automatically assumes physical but the kind of rest I am talking about is the exact opposite, it is spiritual.
Throughout my life I have been a person of high stress and anxiety. I worry. I overanalyze. I want control. None of these traits reflect spiritual rest but instead scream unrest. In all actuality, you can’t be in a place of spiritual rest and have anxiety.
The first month on the race and honestly my life until this point has been a constant state of things to do and stretching myself thin. In college my mom would tell me to slow down and rest or I would get sick. My response would always be that I operate well under pressure and that I could handle it. This was true until one day I couldn’t handle it anymore. Since that day, over two years ago, I have been in a constant battle of finding rest in God, I just didn’t know it until now.
The fact is the “this and the that” never end so the rest never comes. I always find excuses to skipping time of rest, specifically resting in God. “I have too much homework. My friend needs me to talk to them. I have to go to a meeting. I have reports to fill out. I have a paper to write.” All of these have been my justification to the lack of rest I find in God.
Last month in Mozambique was a hard month. Every day I felt burnt out. I always found something to fill my time and take me away from just being still. I could go a whole day without truly spending time resting in the Lord…while on a mission trip…around the world…what is wrong with me.
This month God has really convicted me about rest. The other night my friend and squad leader Renee asked me and a fellow team leader Emily to listen to a podcast on the topic of rest. Let me tell you, it was life altering.
After listening to the message I realized that when I am in rest that I am more aware of the presence of God. In Exodus 33:14, God tells Moses that He will personally go with him and will give Moses rest. The entire bible discusses rest. God himself rested and will be seated for eternity. If we are to mirror God then why don’t we rest?
Rest has everything to do with inheritance. From rest we are able to walk in God’s inheritance. It gives us eyes of faith to see beyond the giant in front of us.
Rest is what we believe and not how we feel. It creates the atmosphere around us. Throughout Hebrews 4 God promises rest for His people.
“God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest.”
Spiritual rest creates momentum, confidence, and movement into the new seasons of life God has planned for us. It is so linked to a settled and crazy faith in God.
It is time for me and everyone that is a believer to sit in the rest of God. Stop striving and start resting in the Lord. Sit in the prophetic declaration of our Savior.
As Christians, we are meant to lean into the Savior who is leaning into the Father. As the Son exhales we inhale His breath and exhale it into the world.
As I promised on my last blog here is a link to my an album I posted on Facebook of my first two months on the Race:
Album 1: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4258066171771.2145199.1289370011&type=1
Album 2: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4258150893889.2145200.1289370011&type=1
Update: Only $2,500 away from my next deadline! Thank you for your support. Please continue to share my journey with friends and family. So excited to see God provide!
