The Lord’s rest is one of the gifts He left with us. He felt there was a time for work and a time for rest.
But have you actually tried to achieve His rest? I’m sure you’ll agree it’s not that easy.
The truth is that it can be difficult to relax, let alone find inner peace and the rest He promised.
At times, life is chaotic. Each day is filled with the demands of your family and personal responsibilities. In fact, you may not know whether you’re coming or going.
Yet He commands each of us to rest.
So you keep trying to achieve it.
You fix yourself a wonderful cup of steaming hot tea. You sit down and take a deep breath, but you just can’t relax. You can’t calm your mind. Your thoughts keep racing.
Maybe you try breathing exercises. Maybe you try counting backwards or forwards but nothing seems to work.
Your mind is not still. And silently you’re thinking that you just can’t do this. Nothing works. And worst of all you start to believe it’s not possible to find HIs rest, let alone His peace He also promised.
And to make matters worse, your tea gets cold.
But here’s the thing.
If you try to achieve His rest and His peace in your own power, it is almost certain you will fail every time.
You need to take a different approach.
You need to depend on HIm to fill you with His rest.
Imagine the Lord speaking directly to you and saying to you,
My Presence is your rest.
Focus on My Presence.
Stop Looking for Me. I’m already here.
For My Presence is your rest.
And in my rest you’ll also find the peace you seek
And then you’ll be able to see My love for you when you are in a state of peace.
Now you need to try again. Fix another cup of tea. Sit down and take a breath.
But instead of trying to achieve a relaxed mindset and find His rest, let go.
Place your attention on His Presence with you, for He is always with you.
In Matthew 28:20, He promised that He is with us every day, and every moment.
So now, take your deep breath and in faith know He is with you, and focus on His Presence. In so doing, you will find His rest.