Rest
By Mike Rule

I am so amazed at people sometimes. Unbelief goes so deep in each one of us, myself included! We often look at circumstances, then look at what God says in His word, yet we still go off in our own direction figuring God didn't mean what He said, or that God didn't mean what He said for our particular situation. I have been there many times. Our sympathy and our confusion can lead us down a path of unbelief and disobedience.

What I have been observing lately strikes me even deeper. People who preach resting in Christ are often nearly physically worn out, mentally fatigued, and emotionally exhausted. They are often stressed about issues in their personal lives. I am that way sometimes too. Why? I truly believe it is because we are speaking from our heads rather than our hearts. We speak in knowledge, but not by personal experience. What is one sure way to tell? Whenever someone tells us all that we must do to attain rest, there is probably no real experience to draw from. Lists are assigned rather than encouraging hearts to see Jesus. Things like reading scripture, praying more, meditating on scripture, focusing on the truth, resisting the enemy, knowing your identity, serving others, giving more, working harder... These are all things that are good to do, but good is the enemy of the very best. Things which are supposed to take us to Christ can lead us away from Him if we have developed a dependence upon something other than Him.

Nothing we can do is going to bring us into a place of rest. Only receiving what HE is offering will truly give rest. Resting in Him is as simple as taking a deep breath in the midst of our trials, struggles and stresses and hearing His voice say, "Yes my child, this is hard; but you have a GOD!"

Rest does not come from what we can do, but from all that He is doing for us in every moment. Listen to His still small voice. Listen to what He is telling us and RELAX! We have a GOD! He did not bring us here to leave us. We are right where He wants us. If He wanted us somewhere else we would be there. I praise Him for His faithfulness! We are TRULY blessed!