As afflicted and needy people, we are generously offered
rest for our weary soul by the Lord of Hosts. His mercy and grace provide us
with His eternal rest at the moment we admit that we are a sinner and surrender
our all to God in prayer (Hebrews 4:16). At the same time that we enter
the early stages of our Christ-centered life, Christ moves into our spirit (Matthew
11:29). So often, however, we do not take advantage of God’s
abiding peace (Isaiah 28:12; 29:19). We fail to completely trust in,
rely on and believe in His Word of Truth (Jeremiah 6:16).
We struggle in our meager existence. Our soul – our mind,
will and emotions - is tormented with stress, anxiety, temptations, negative
emotions, complicated choices and fleshly desires. We are not living from a
place of rest in Christ. We are trusting in our self rather than in God.
However, as we put our faith in Him, He sanctifies our thoughts, choices and
emotions. He bountifully provides us with His rest (Psalm
116:7). He fills us with the fruit of His Spirit, which is the
divine nature of God operating in our life (Galatians 5:22-23).
We only escape the rat race of life when we realize that we
are dead to sin and alive in Christ (Romans 6:11; Colossians 3:3;
Galatians 2:20). Our human understanding is minimal at best; however, our
union with Christ gives us His wisdom and spiritual insight (1
Corinthians 2:14-15). Once we learn to live from a place of rest, we can
return to His rest instantly, whenever life shakes us from His presence. When
we view our trials through the eyes of Christ in us, they are no longer a
trial, but a spiritual awakening and a blessing in disguise.
Rest for our soul includes ceasing from our own self-effort
to please God or to earn His pleasure. We allow Christ to live through us
instead of trying to work for Him (Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews
4:1-11). As we progressively enter our rest in the Lord, our
thoughts, choices and emotions rest as well. We listen to the Spirit’s
prompting and step aside so that the living Lord Jesus can function through us
to rescue those still living in this lost and dying world without Him.
Prayer:
Father God, we want to enter Your eternal rest and to live
our life from the perspective of Your wisdom and strength. We submit our thoughts,
choices and emotions to You on a daily basis and live by Your Spirit’s
direction each moment of the day. We want to relinquish our desires and goals
to You, so that we will be in the right place at the right time to do Your
will. We feed upon Your Word and our sustenance comes from living in Your will.
Thought for the Day:
We cease from our efforts of performing religious
activities for God and rest in the sufficiency of His grace, as Jesus Christ
within us lives His life through us.
