If you are like me when you hear the word rest, you think about taking a nap, or when it’s time to go to bed at night. However, resting the biblical way is so much better. In our last devotion we talked a little bit about how we are supposed to rest in the Lord. This one focuses a little more on “why we rest”.
Taking a time out to rest with God is essential to living victoriously and taking care of ourselves. Jesus Himself did this and showed us why. Jesus took time out to connect with His Father before making big decisions, he went off to be alone with God after preaching to large crowds and He prayed continuously to gain the strength He needed to fulfill His purpose. How could we possibly think that if Jesus needed to rest in God that we can live a healthy life without doing the same.
Luke 5:15-16: "But the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed".
Mark 1:35: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed".
Luke 6:12: "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God" (before choosing the twelve apostles).
Matthew 26:36 & Mark 14:32: Jesus goes to Gethsemane, a place of secret prayer, asking disciples to "Sit here while I go over there and pray" before his arrest.
He showed his disciples (and us) the necessity and power of personal, undistracted prayer, while resting in the Lord. We face decisions every single day of our life. How do we know if we are choosing God’s way in these decisions if we do not take the necessary time to commune with Him first. By doing this, we take the pressure off of ourselves and we are able to trust that God is taking care of it.
1 Peter 5:6-8
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
How can you be alert if you haven’t rested? Have you every driven your car while tired? Dangerous territory.
I challenge you today to pick one of the above scriptures and repeat it to yourself over and over again, to remind yourself, that Jesus Himself rested.
Pray this with me:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for giving me your word and making it clear why resting is so important. Thank you for reminding me that I shouldn’t make any decisions in my life without consulting you first. Will you remind me today why it is so important to rest in you and show me ways that I can add this to my daily self-care routine. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment