Daily Journal: 5 December

Rest Without Guilt

Sometimes we are called into a time of rest by God. A time where we know He is saying, STOP. Stop striving. Stop trying so hard. Stop over-extending yourself. Stop moving in your own strength. Stop having expectations that I haven’t placed on you.

Resting in those times proves our need to rely on God for all things. It shows that the heart of God listens to our heart and responds.

Hebrews 4:9-11 (NLT)

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 labours, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.

When we enter that rest when God calls, we know God is doing a deeper work. A work for us to be healed and freed, to gain new understanding and insight. A time for us to draw nearer to Him and let Him teach us things we haven’t been able to see before; to pray for things He is wanting to unfold before us. It’s a special time. A personal time. A time to trust Him as Father and Lord, Lover-of-my-soul and King.

Psalm 73:26 (NCV)

My body and my mind may become weak, but God is my strength. He is mine forever.

God calls us into a secret place to renew us and restore places long devastated.

Psalm 62:1-2 (TLB)

I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone. Yes, he alone is my Rock, my rescuer, defence and fortress. Why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come?

This time of rest is not of our own making. It is a salvation. It is God-appointed so, afterward, we can move forward in the fullness He calls us to.

Hebrews 4:15 (NASB)

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,

This time of rest is to remember repentance is at its foundation. Repentance of all that’s been carried that has set itself up against the goodness of the Lord; to let go of the old; to recognise disbelief and wrong-held beliefs that don’t honour God’s name and character, nor the creation He’s made us to be.

Exodus 33:14 (NET)

 And the Lord said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

God’s Presence works things out in our lives in a way we cannot dictate. Therefore, we can rest without guilt, knowing His expression of goodness towards us indicates His care for us. This rest is a transition through intercession to carry new wineskins. It’s a rest with a deep spiritual work, in which we are not burdened, but give over our burdens and carry them no more, settling us in our land of promise.