Rest For Your Soul
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
We are on the subject of rest and what the Bible has to say about it. Last week I talked about how we need to take a physical rest from our busy schedules. This week I want to address the spiritual rest that we can live in every day, no matter our schedules or circumstances.
I thought it would be fun to share an excerpt from my book, Planted. The following passages are taken from portions of chapters 6 and 9.
Enter into God’s Rest
Hebrews 4:1-3 says, “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” God has promised His people rest. Here we find the answer to why so many of us are not living in that peace. The gospel can only go so far in your life. How far it reaches into your life and the degree in which it can change your life is totally up to you. In return, the same degree that you allow the Word to work in your life is the same degree of rest and peace you will experience. It takes the Word PLUS your faith in that Word to produce the peace and rest you desire.
Living in the Word and having faith in His Word is the place you can experience peace in your life. It doesn’t matter who you are or what circumstances you are in; you can live in the peace of God. The key is to DAILY seek Him through prayer and His Word, DAILY check your heart and motives, DAILY take your authority over evil trying to come against you, DAILY forgive. Do you get the point? To stay in a place of peace, you have to make these things a daily habit – a way of life.
Abide in the Vine
Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Through this scripture, Jesus paints us a picture of what our relationship with Him should look like and be like if we want fruitful (successful) lives.
The branches obviously are the part of a tree that produces fruit. I have never seen apples grow straight from the trunk of a tree. Yet, many people and even Christians believe that if God wants to do something, He can just do it with or without us. That is not true at all. We are to be His hands and feet on this earth. He is the vine – the vine has an important job of bringing everything that the branches need to produce the fruit. The branches never worry that the supply of water and nutrients won’t be there. They take in whatever is supplied to them and then in the right season they produce.
Just as God needs us to produce good spiritual fruit in this world, we need Him to be our supply. A limb that has been broken off of the tree might look good for a couple of days, but slowly the leaves will lose color and the branches will become dry. The branch cannot sustain life on its own, separate from the tree. You might find short-term success doing things your own way, but sooner or later, the success that you are trying to produce on your own will be dried up like that tree branch.
It is prideful to think you can do things on your own or in your way. Yet, the idea of being independently successful is glamourized. Frank Sinatra even sang about, “I did it my way.” Well, sorry to break it to you, Frank, but you should not want to do things “your way.” We are designed to need each other and most importantly, to need God.
Notice in John 15:5 it says that you can DO NOTHING without Him. Why do you think there are so many celebrities or people who seem to have every earthly possession to make them happy yet suffer from depression or die by suicide? They are putting pressure on themselves to be successful in and of themselves instead of being connected to the life source – Jesus. Living independent from God might not manifest as depression, but it will manifest. Anger, frustration, disappointment, loneliness, bitterness, hate, arrogance, meanness, being just plain miserable are all “fruit” that will produce in your life when you try to do things your own way.
Did you know that your desires for your life were actually put there by God? God gave you your desires. He put your talents and interests into your DNA. He knows what you will be most fulfilled doing. He gave you your personality and your likes and dislikes. He wants more than anything to bless you with your deepest dreams and desires. He will give you great success without stress and sorrow and frustration attached. You can live the life God intended for you while having fun and being joyful and peaceful.
Planted by the Rivers
Psalm 1 says, “Blessed (Happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather. But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night. And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity]” (AMPC).
Basically, this scripture is saying that you are going to be BLESSED when you stay planted and fed by the Word of God. A tree planted next to a river never lacks what it needs. In fact, did you notice that it said, “He shall be like a tree firmly planted by the STREAMS?” Meaning there is more than one stream. As I was studying this out, the Lord took me back to Genesis and the Garden of Eden. There is a specific tree that we are supposed to be like, and that is the tree of life, which is the representation of abundant life.
The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were both in the garden. Genesis 2:10 reads, “Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.” So, being planted by the streams or rivers refers to your life being like the tree of life. You are to continually feed on the Word of God, for it contains everything you need.
When God created the Garden of Eden, He gave man the job of tending it. As Adam cared for the land, God provided the increase. What this means for you is that you have the job of tending the “soil” or your life. You are to make sure that you keep the weeds from growing in around the Word and choking it out. When you stay planted in the Word, you will be like Adam and Eve and be taken care of without having to worry about a thing. The only concern you should have is staying connected to the Word of God. When you stay connected, you will dwell in that secret place of the Most High.
Here is a recap of how to rest in God.
DAILY seek Him through prayer and reading the Bible. I have a free Bible reading plan and journal that you can download and print. It will walk you through your quiet time with God. Get it below.
2. DAILY check your heart and motives. It’s easy to get trapped in selfish ambitions – that is usually when stress happens. When you check your heart and motives you check to see if you are walking in love and allowing God on the scene.
3. DAILY take your authority over evil trying to come against you. When you know who you are and WHO’s you are, you won’t let the cares and worries of your life get to you. You can instead cast your cares on Jesus and plead the blood of Jesus over your day and situation. Rest in the power and authority we have in Jesus’ name.
4. DAILY forgive. If you want to find rest for your soul then look no further than forgiveness. If you need help in this area, check out 5 Practical Steps to Forgive
There is rest for your soul when you daily live in and rely on Jesus.
Remember to watch us live on Wednesday night at 7:00 as we continue teaching on rest. Go to my Schaffer Ministries Facebook page here.