There is a level of rest that some of us have accepted. Wrongly accepted. It teaches us that we don't "need" God to give us energy throughout the day - we just go to bed early. It teaches us to take a nap instead of pray for help when we feel tired. It prescribes movies, hanging out with friends, sleeping in and is laced with frequent escapes to media. But what would it look like if we did pray instead of slept for thirty minutes? If our lives were completely led by the Spirit's calling, regardless of how our schedule was altered? What would happen if we stopped looking at our phones or at the time and bent our knees? Jesus never runs out of energy so should we? Regardless of our experience, I think so...
There is a special kind of rest this world cannot produce no matter how hard it tries...It's not natural to be at rest in this world - Christians were not created to be fully at rest here...for our home is not here, it lies in heaven. Until we reach that destination, God has graciously provided rest but only through Jesus Christ. And He calls us to His arms, "come all you who labor and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). We are enslaved to the worries or weariness of this world but we can choose to rest upon Him who "daily bears our burden" (Psalm 68:19). It is possible to escape the heaviness of trials and struggles.
Oswald Chambers said "It is a tremendous freedom to get rid of every kind of self-consideration and learn to care about only one thing - the relationship between our Prince and ourselves."
Oh, what freedom it truly is! What rest there is in living for one purpose only and be stripped of anything that hinders this pursuit! What a gracious God that allows us to live a lifestyle of resting in Him while we are living in this weary world.
Let this become our lifestyle. A lifestyle of abiding in Jesus. Of choosing joy and not worry. Of submitting to His lordship rather than sin. Of picking up a cross and dying to ourselves moment by moment so we have no care in the world but our relationship with God. God wants us to rest in His arms, but we must follow His supernatural conditions to lead Spirit-filled lives. Having a Spirit-filled life may sometimes lead into the prayer room instead of our beds or a movie. It may be picking up our Bible instead of our phone. Join me in this adventure, dear reader, for the more we pray and exchange all that we are for all that He is, the more we become equipped with supernatural strength. Let us watch God draw near to us as we pursue Him and see what happens as He lives a miraculously energy-filled life through our frail human bodies.
Find rest, o my soul, in God alone!
~Psalm 62:1
