“Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 16:24
Resting and Receiving
Part 2
We have to be at rest in order to receive! God has so very much He wants to give us. But our hearts must be at rest, so we can open them and receive from His loving hand.
1. Receiving from Him requires humility. It means we say that we don’t have the answers. We admit we need Him. We open our hearts to hear from Him. We can only receive His love, His peace, His grace, His strength, His wisdom and counsel, His help, and His heart when we humbly say we need Him.
2. Receiving means acknowledging that He is enough! From His abundance, He is sufficient for every need if we’ll receive for our needs to be met.
3. Receiving means we don’t tell Him what we think we need. We graciously allow Him to pour into our lives what He knows we need.
4. Receiving means we let faith rise in our hearts for all that we’re asking of Him. Faith opens the door of our hearts to Him.
5. Receiving means we become like little children, receiving freely and joyfully what our Father has for us.
“Every good gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).
“God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
I don’t think we have even an inkling of how much God wants to pour into our lives. His Father heart longs to teach us, guide us, help us. But we have to receive. And in order to do that, we have to still our hearts in a place of rest.
To survive on this journey we’ve been on, I’ve had to learn new, deep levels of rest. I couldn’t have made it if He hadn’t taught me lessons of resting fully, completely, and very deeply. This rest, HIS rest, is what has kept me going.
And from that place of rest, He has helped me open my heart to receive all that I have needed to persevere on this journey. There have been times when I didn’t know if I’d make it. I remember saying to two dear friends, “I just don’t know if I can keep going.” And that was only at about month three or four!
Thankfully, God knew how to help me. He has taught me to rest and receive. How grateful I am for those lessons.
“Father, help us all learn to receive what You long to give. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Amen!
Thank you, Sally, for sharing. Knowing how the Lord has carried you through this very difficult journey, encourages me that He is sufficient for whatever I encounter. Blessings to you and Floyd.
I’m a tad confused. The scripture on the first page says we don’t receive because we don’t ask. But item 3 says we don’t receive because we don’t ask. Please clarify. Thanks Nancy
I so appreciate reading through your devotionals and praise God that He has met your every need. Thank you for sharing about “Rest and Receiving”, as without this reminder, some of us may not have taken the needed time to ponder and pray about it for our own lives and well-being. I pray that God will continue to strengthen you and heal your body. God Bless all who read this. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Hi Nancy, I’m not the author but I think she’s trying to differentiate between “asking” and “telling”. The Bible verse encourages us to “ask and receive”, but #3 on the author’s list warns us against “telling” God what we think we need.
I think it’s a difference in the posture of our heart. Are we asking with humbleness, knowing He will give us that which will make our joy complete? Or are we trying to TELL the God of the Universe what He needs to do and give us in order to make us happy.
That’s my take on it anyway. What a great question!