Rest Pt.3
There are many stressed-out people in Christianity who fail to understand that when we have Jesus, we have everything!
Jesus is with us every minute of every day and He is enough for our tomorrows and the future ahead of us. For example, a few days ago my wife Jane was on a morning walk in the park. There were a few other people also walking and as she was walking she heard the Holy Spirit say to her: “Be aware of what is around you!” So she took a quick glance around her and she heard the voice of the Holy Spirit speak once again: “Look behind you!” She looked behind her on the edge of the walking path and there back in the bushes was a man lurking! She immediately felt the presence of the Lord and began to praise Him for always being with her.
Living stress-free in a stress-filled world is not only possible but can become your reality! Some believe that living stress-free in this present world is only an illusion or a pipe dream. We who are in this New Covenant that God has given us through Jesus Christ have available to us the opportunity to live a restful, stress-free life with God.
This truth seems so far away for some people because of the chaos in and around their lives. Jesus still brings peace to the storms of life. There is a genuine, tangible rest for the people of God! Unbelief brings stress and restlessness but believing in the finished work of Christ brings rest.
Hebrews 4:1-4 – “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.”
Our life with the Lord can be restful and not storm-tossed with the winds of adversity blowing us in all directions. We have been given all we need to live and operate in an atmosphere where we have ceased from our own works (Heb. 4:9) understanding that we have been qualified to receive every promise because Christ fulfilled every requirement for us and sat down at God’s right hand.
The kingdom of heaven is ours through Christ – it has been given to us and is not some distant place or distant spiritual level, God has already raised us up to be seated in Christ in heavenly places! To be seated is a position of rest.
2 Peter 1:3 – “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.”
Our God is a good God and He has given us every good thing required for life and godliness through Christ Jesus. We have wisdom, peace, righteousness, and all the exceedingly precious promises in the Bible bestowed on us.
Hebrews 4:11 – “Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”
Whether in the seemingly insignificant segments of life or in the very significant moments, Jesus is with us - guiding, strengthening, encouraging and bringing us joy for the journey!
Isaiah 40:29-31 – “He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength. 30 Even the youths faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
There is a place where we can run the race set before us without getting tired and faint-hearted. In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul states that he “labored more abundantly than they all” but it was the “grace of God which was with me.” His approach to ministry was in a place of rest where the Lord enabled the work. Jesus completed the “works which the Father had given me to finish” (John 5:36). Jesus said and did what the Father told and gave him to do and rested on that reality. He knew the path the Father had for Him to follow and rested in the outcome of everything laid before Him.
Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Let’s move forward in the things that are prepared for us without stress! Be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and stay in the plan of the Father. Give everything we are and have to the Lord, He is guiding us without the stress and indecisiveness of our own making. If we don’t have the assurance to move ahead in a decision, don’t move! Jesus is Lord of our lives and we need to be listening to what He is saying.
When we get off of His path, stress becomes our portion. When we get our eyes on the storms of life that come in the journey and off of Him, stress becomes our portion. Let’s choose to live the life He came to give us!
Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The Christian life was intended to be a restful, stress-free life. There is no room for burnout in ministry and serving the Lord. When we are truly working for Jesus, we won’t become burned-out because we are not operating in our own efforts. We are doing the work that the Lord has prepared for us; the work He has laid out for us. What a positive difference when we are yoked with the Lord – He is the one who pulls the heavy load, not us! This is the stress-free, abundant life that Jesus came to give. The answer to stress is this: Jesus said, “Come and learn of me!”
