“Thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’ ” Isaiah 30:15
Resting and Receiving
Part 1
The two words “resting” and “receiving” have been echoing in my mind in recent days. They are closely linked, but very different. I’ve been reflecting on what they’ve meant to me on this journey.
Resting is both passive and active. I need to passively, quietly rest, but I also must actively choose some things to do that. Resting is not being lazy.
1. Resting involves trust. I must acknowledge that He is sovereign, and choose to trust Him. I have to do this 100%. I can’t choose to trust in some areas, and want to be in charge myself in others. True rest will only come when I relinquish full control to Him, let go of things completely, and tell Him I trust Him without reservation. We can wear ourselves out by trying to control things while also trying to trust.
2. Resting involves turning my cares over to Him. This sounds very simple, because I know I can’t carry them anyway. But sometimes I find I turn them over to Him, and before I know it, I’ve got them back on my shoulders. I need to fully and completely “cast my burdens” on Him in order to rest.
3. Resting means choosing not to worry. Worry just gets us all tangled up. I’ll share another day what I’ve been learning about the mess worrying can get us into. But we can’t enter into His rest if we’re worrying and fretting. It’s the very opposite of resting. Trust means giving up worrying. We have to stop being anxious, or perhaps reasoning and bargaining with God. To truly rest in full trust we must become like a little baby in its mother’s arms: relaxed, safe, secure, and at rest without a worry in the world.
4. Resting means we have to “be still.” The simplicity of stillness brings such deep rest into our souls. It means stepping away from busyness into His rest. It means receiving His rest as a gift.
5. Resting brings peace, the peace that passes understanding. It quiets the turmoil of any storm that may be raging around us. It settles us, calms us, and even steadies us.
Tomorrow I will share some thoughts I have on receiving.
“Lord, we want to enter Your rest. Teach us to be still. Amen.”
This was so good for me today. I rewrote much of this deviational in my journal to fully remind myself about Resting and Receiving. We’re going thru a trial now and this is such a good reminder and so helpful to remember He is enough and He is more than able to handle anything and everything. I just need to submit, rest and get out of the way! Can’t wait for more on this tomorrow.