Resting in The Lord
“Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:12-14
This is one of my favorite verses in the bible, and a constant prayer I pray to remind myself. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. All of your heart. This is the key. How often do we see people we love struggling and trying their hardest to do right, or to get through a hard time in their lives? How often do we find ourselves going through these same trials; weariness, frustration, and even exhaustion? Trying to push through the week, to give 100% in our careers, to our families, and to the work we are doing for the Lord. Feeling an overwhelming pressure of having to keep it all together, leaving us tired and drained.
But God has a purpose for these trials. He uses these times of struggles to point our eyes back to him. If we listen for his voice we will hear that He is reminding us that we need to call on Him, and that we were not made to rely on ourselves, but on God alone.
But what does this look like? How do we actually do this when we find ourselves in a place where we know we need to be depending on the Lord, but do not know where to start? I can tell you this was something I personally struggled with for a long time. It was only through praying this verse and whole heartedly seeking Jesus, that he began to reveal to me what I needed to do.
First, empty yourself out to Jesus. When we pour out everything we are holding on to and keeping down inside, we can then begin to be restored by God. Everything we try to do on our own can weigh us down and keep God from being able to work in our lives. When we do not hold back anything from Jesus, we are fully trusting in him.
Rest in The Lord. The Lord will give us rest, but we first must see how valuable this resting time is! We need to remember that God can work through us better when we are at rest. Go to this place of rest with God often by taking the time to pray and be with Him in between all of the activities of our day. When I pray to God, I often find myself doing all of the talking. It can seem like I’m going through a check list of who and what I need to be praying about. If we never take the time to just be still and listen to God, this can cause us to draw our own conclusions about whatever situations we are praying for. Spending quiet time with The Lord allows us to hear from Him, and hear His truths.
Live with The Lord. When Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me,” he did not mean that he was to do all things, and then rely on Christ to find strength. He meant that for all Christ told him to do, he could rely on Him supplying the strength. When Jesus was weary, he separated himself from his disciples and sat and rested on the well. It was then, after he was rested, that the Samaritan woman was helped. Often times God’s work in the world is hindered by doing work just to be “doing work”. We often let our tired bodies drive our spirits, but the Holy Spirit should always be the one driving. We should not seek to work for Jesus. We should live with Him and for Him. He does the work, and makes the opportunities.
The cross is a powerful reminder to us that Jesus took away all of our burdens, and put them upon himself. It was never his intention for us to bear our own burdens, when there is only one place for them -Jesus’s cross. When we seek Jesus with all of our heart, and withdraw into the rest that he wants to give us, we will find no greater joy and peace. What a relief this is that we do not have to rely on ourselves, and that instead we can trust in our God, who holds everything in the palm of his hands.
GATHER HER || 04.13.17
FASHION + FAITH + FRIENDS
FREE
Topic: Purpose
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Enjoy an evening with women just like you who want to explore their faith and love all things fashion!
04.13.17 || 6:30 - 8:30 pm || FREE for all Women!
Aloft Austin Northwest (New lakeline Location)
14020 N Highway 183, Austin, Texas 78717