The continuous trials of this life wear us out eventually, and suicides are on the rise in these last days. People lose hope because they place their trust in people, places, vocations, bank accounts, and possessions. Once we are stripped of these safety nets, we despair.
However, 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 very moment that we admit we are a sinner and surrender our all to God in prayer (Hebrews 4:16). It is ours for the taking.
When we enter these early stages of our Christ-centered life, Jesus moves into our spirit by His Spirit (Matthew 11:29). So often, however, we do not take advantage of God’s abiding peace within (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 is still 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, God sanctifies our thoughts, choices, and emotions. He bountifully provides us with His rest (Psalm 116:7), and He fills us with the fruit of His Spirit, which is the divine nature of God operating in our life (Galatians 5:22-23).
Once we learn to live from a place of serenity, we can return to His rest instantly if we slip from it or if a life event shakes us from His presence. When we view our trials through the eyes of Christ in us, they are no longer negative, but a spiritual awakening and a blessing in disguise.
Prayer:
Father God, Your rest for our soul includes ceasing from our own self-effort to please You or to earn Your pleasure. We allow Christ to live in us and through us instead of trying to work for You (Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews 4:1-11). As we progressively enter our rest in You, our thoughts, choices, and emotions rest as well.
We listen to Your 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 You. We want to enter Your eternal rest and to live our life from the perspective of Your wisdom and strength. Teach us to submit our thoughts, choices, and emotions to You on a daily basis and to live by Your Spirit’s direction each moment of the day.
Thought for the Day:
Our human understanding is minimal at best, however, our union with Christ gives us His wisdom and spiritual insight, and we only escape the rat race of life when we realize that we are dead to sin and alive in Christ; we want to relinquish our desires and goals to God, so that we will be in the right place at the right time to do His will as we feed upon His Word and gain our sustenance from living in His will.
- Romans 6:11; Colossians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 2:14-15; Galatians 2:20
