Restless or Resting
This morning, I woke up to a text from my oldest son sent at 3 am, which said, "I am restless." He is 19 and recently moved into an apartment. He is extremely driven and entrepreneurial. He sets big goals for himself and always feels like he should be doing more, not satisfied with where he is in life. He is a deep thinker and processes everything internally. Being alone in his apartment, he is stuck with his thoughts. Have you ever been alone with your thoughts? Thoughts like… I am not doing enough. I know I was made for more. I should have more money by now. I am not where I want to be with my business or ministry. I am not where I want to be spiritually. Can you relate to this kind of internal restlessness? I know I can because I grew up thinking all these things and living in fear, anxiety, and strife. I believed lies about God and myself. In the last ten years, the Lord has done some significant healing in all these areas and taught me about living from a place of rest.
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear], and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-20 AMP
"It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones." Psalm 127:2 NLT
When most people think of rest, they think of physically resting, going on vacation, or taking a break from busyness. The kind of rest I am talking about is a state of mind or a place of peace in your inner man. For me, this rest has been a process as I learn to recognize when I am stressed and striving, then daily choose to release and surrender it all to Jesus.
"Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully." 1 Peter 5:7
I gave up the mindset that I was not enough or lacked something that caused restlessness inside me. I had a choice to keep going down the do it yourself mentality or choose to surrender everything to Jesus. I had to embrace the truth that everything I needed for life and godliness resides inside of me through my union with Christ.
"For His divine power has bestowed on us [absolutely] everything necessary for [a dynamic spiritual] life and godliness, through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." 2 Peter 1:3
Rest comes out of a relationship and is all about the journey with Jesus. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus invites us to yoke up to Him. We have the privilege to walk, listen, and learn from Jesus. The more we have a revelation that He loves us immensely and cares about us affectionately, the easier it is to stop striving and enter His rest. As we spend time in His Word and Presence, He reshapes our thinking and gives us a new perspective, bringing peace to our souls.
There is so much I have learned about living in rest that I will share in future blogs. First things first….SURRENDER! The first thing I do when I sense unrest in my soul is surrender my desire to control what should be. I release what I perceive the outcome of situation to be. I just make a choice to surrender and release everything to Jesus then I spend a few minutes in prayer. We can pray, step into God's presence, repent, and bring back peace. "And saying, repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 3:7 AMPC
If you are ready to find rest for your soul, then pray through this with me.
Father, I thank You that You have made way for me through Jesus Christ to come into Your presence. By faith [take a step forward], I step into the realm of Your presence. I ask You to forgive me for living the do it yourself lifestyle and living from my own strength. I repent for trying to maintain control of my life and figure things out on my own. Today, I willfully choose to surrender my life's responsibility to You and release my perceived outcomes. I repent for not trusting you with my burdens, cares, family, finances, and future. I give them all to you now. I cast all my sin, guilt, shame, and condemnation onto You. I release all of my sorrows, grief, disappointments, worry, anxiety, and fear to You. I cast all my debts onto You; I cast all the weight of expectation onto You; I surrender control of my life to You. I choose to be yoked to You Jesus: tutor and train me in gentleness and humility to bring me to the place of maturity. Now, Lord, I step back [take a step back] into this earthly dimension, bringing Your rest and peace with me to live in the middle of the storm. I release the peace of Christ into every part of my soul, body, and surroundings. I choose today to live from a place of rest.
As you practice surrender and release, you will notice a greater sense of peace in your soul. Remember this is a process and gets easier as you daily yoke yourself to Jesus and allow Him to carry the weight for you.
Until next time, may God bless you and your family!