How Do You Find Rest In The Lord?

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Have you felt stuck in a tiresome routine? Sometimes, we feel like every day is the same fight with the same results. Day-by-day, we are constantly struggling, and as a result, we are draining happiness and satisfaction from ourselves. Sure, people can always take a nap, but situations will not have changed when they wake up. What do we do at times when sleeping cannot succor our tired souls? Thing is, we don’t have to feel this way at all. Yes, at all! No matter how many hours you sleep or how much you eat to rejuvenate your body, nothing compares to the rest God offers. What does it mean to “rest in the Lord”? Let’s find this answer today.

Rest in the Lord

The concept of taking one’s rest in the Lord transcends any form of leisure we can ever think of. Resting in the Lord means casting our all worries, burdens, and discomforts into His Hands. By placing our lives fully into His hands, we are taking a gigantic leap of faith. The recipe for centering our rest is a fusion of trusting Him completely, strengthening our faith, and practicing our peace. What happens when we cast our troubles to God? What do we get out of it?

To answer that, think about this; we rest every night feeling protected by our fierce soldiers who work 24/7. We proceed in our daily lives knowing that these brave men and women are always on watch and on-call. Because we trust them, we feel protected, and we don’t worry much about our safety. If we give God this same trust, if we cast our worries to the Lord who has immeasurable power, no problem will ever faze us. Why? Simple, it’s because there’s nothing God cannot save or solve, and yes, that includes the things bothering us right now!

Psalm 37:7 reminds us to be still and wait for the Lord’s presence. See, God’s rest gives us the freedom to enjoy the life He has given us. He loves us so much that He wants to fight our battles if only we allow Him to. Our trust is our strength to activate our rest in the Lord (Isaiah 30:15). Of course, we have to surrender ourselves in order for God to start working on our lives, He gives us the freedom to be willing or not. Most of the time, the problem circulates and forms even bigger when we deny ourselves the assurance only God can give.

Struggling Vs. Surrendering

Are you struggling or surrendering?

To answer that, let’s talk go back to what the Book of Proverbs reminds us:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight” 

– Proverbs 3:5-6

This beautiful Bible verse clarifies one thing; we must trust God, not rely on our own understanding. It’s very clear that this speaks of how we should submit to Him. It answers our question regarding how we are either struggling or surrendering.

When we choose to struggle, we take everything into our own hands. Meaning, we depend on our human abilities to conquer problems. Instances like failures, disappointments, and loss can drive a person into the darkness. The more we rely on our abilities, the more we question and see our lapses. This routine is tiring; it drains our emotions with the pressure we create out of our reliance on ourselves.

On the other hand, when we give our problems to God, the pressures of emotions we cannot control are now in God’s Hands. Of course, problems and even sadness can still occur even if we leave our situations to God as this is how life is designed. But, our eyesight is going to be clearer; instead of being upset over our problems, since we know that God is working 24/7 in our lives, we start to feel excited for what He’s going to unravel after the storm. We will no longer see flaws but appreciate the adventure of the free life God wants us to experience.

Biblical Examples of Resting in the Lord

As we find rest in the Lord, the Bible has us covered with these brave icons who chose not to fret but, to seek strength and rest in the Lord instead.

David and Goliath

The story of how David became king is known to almost every Christian. But if we look at his story closely, there are many characteristics that David possesses which are relatable in our lives today. Before he became king, David was known to be someone who had the physique of a boy who never fought in battles. As a matter of fact, he was just a shepherd who tended to his family’s sheep.

David showed his faith and trust in God when he agreed to fight Goliath, a Philistine no one in the Israeli army would. Goliath was not only unbeatable and strong but, also has a whopping height of nine feet! Without a doubt, anyone would think that he was out of David’s league. Not only did David choose to fight him, but he also rejected Saul’s offer to let him wear armor. Instead, he chose a sling and stone from a river as his weapons of choice. At the end of the day, David earned his triumph over Goliath. What does this tell us?

First of all, David came to the battle without a single shiver from his body. It wasn’t because he knew he was strong (he wasn’t, at least physically) but, his intense faith towards the Lord gained him the confidence he was carrying. David was calm because  he did not feel tired; his strength was from God who has immeasurable power. David teaches us to take our power, not from our bodies nor our titles but, from God. Once we do, our supply of energy will never run out. Was David afraid? No. Because he knew that God is bigger than any giant. But, what about us? do we also acknowledge that God is bigger than the things that are causing us to feel tired?

Moses and the Israelites

The story of Moses teaches us about the process of obtaining our rest in the Lord. When God approached Moses and told him his mission, Moses doubted himself. He questioned his ability to go against Pharoh nor lead an overwhelming number of people out of oppression. Of course, God understood how Moses was feeling, and He promised Moses He would be with him all the way.

If we read the Book of Exodus, we can say that Moses is a great leader. Most times, he was calm and confident about how God would aid him. He didn’t need to catch a breather in his mission! His mission was so enormous that we’d expect him to feel tired frequently, but instead, Moses found rest in the Lord. He acknowledged he was not alone in pursuing God’s plans.

Sometimes, we also feel tired because of the feeling that we’re fighting our battles alone. But, are we really? Joshua 1:9 explains that we don’t have to live like this. We are reminded that alone, we cannot carry our burdens, but with God, we can do all things.

Mary and Joseph

A lot of unexpected things occur in the Bible. One of the biggest twists that happened is how Mary, the mother of Jesus, became pregnant despite being a virgin. When God chose Mary, she was not yet married to Joseph, and it could have carried a negative judgment from others if they found she was pregnant before marriage. But, because of her faith and trust in God, she stood firm and agreed, saying that she is the Lord’s servant.

Along the way, the mother of Jesus faced a huge responsibility but, she never complained about how tired she was. It wasn’t because she’s the mother of Jesus nor is she someone with immense kindness. Instead, she never felt tired because she trusted God’s plan. At times, people get tired tenfolds than they should because they try to follow their own plan instead of God’s plan. So, the lesson we learn from Mary is, to not go against God’s plan. Instead, we should seek Him for it and you won’t feel tired pursuing something you are made for.

What Are The Things That Hinder Rest?

Even if we don’t know it, we do many things that deny the process of obtaining our rest in the Lord. John 20:29 reminds us that Jesus blesses those who have not seen, but yet lives by faith. In reality, it seems easy to say that we trust in God completely (even without seeing Him in person) and are living by faith. We think that we rest in the Lord by our actions but, it’s the complete opposite. Little do we know, rest does not come from sleeping or laying on a couch doing nothing. Here are some of the things we unconsciously do that hinders God’s blessing of rest.

Lacking the knowledge of God’s Word

Can a therapist heal a client without the client talking to them? No. So, how can we expect God to work in our lives if we don’t know what He’s saying in the first place? At times, we lack communication which is the utmost essential factor of our rest in the Lord. The moment we start understanding and feeding ourselves with His promises and words, we feel an undescribable kind of ease. Through this, we understand and appreciate that He has destined our lives to have a happy ending if we accept Him. Exodus 33:14 says God’s presence is the way to go in obtaining our rest in the Lord. Of course, we start this by knowing His Words.

Our denial of freedom

Wait, who doesn’t want freedom, right? Well, we tend to deny freedom without even knowing it. God’s word tells us that where God is, freedom follows (2 Corinthians 3:17). Who the Son sets free, is free indeed. So, where can God sit in our lives to set us free if we don’t even allow ourselves to be free? – Admittedly, we deny our own freedom when we try so hard to achieve a certain image or persona God did not intend for us to be.

God does not expect perfection from us. Our faith will save us, not our achievements or wealth. Therefore, struggling so hard to be someone we are not, denies us of the freedom God has generously blessed us. Plus, it tires us and makes us question our worth when we’re beyond loved in God’s eyes.

Leaving everything to our abilities

Indeed, the Lord has blessed us with logic, intelligence, wit, and physical power. But, what we tend to do is to rely on these so much that we take God out of the picture. When we do this, we become restless as we face multiple frustrations without understanding any meaning behind the events in our lives. However, when we leave everything to God, everything, even the dark days of our lives is in control. Gone are the days of worrying over events that we know God has an underlying plan to. It’s like riding a bus knowing that the driver knows where you’re going. But this time, we’re talking about the omnipotent and omniscient Almighty Father Who is waiting for your return to Him so He can work on your life.

Doubting God

We cannot find our rest in the Lord if we doubt Him or His Words. Matthew 28:17  reminds us of how doubt is present in the Bible. It speaks of the time when people doubted while others worshipped. What’s so wrong with doubt? Well, the process of resting in God takes up complete trust and confidence over His Mercy and His Power. When we doubt, we are not giving the Lord space to work in our lives. As a result, we are once again in this endless maze of feeling down over our lapses that only God could solve.

For instance, we tend to doubt God’s Plan when something wrong or uncomfortable happens in our lives. When we don’t leave it in His hands, we stress out over every single detail we should have just asked God to take control of. God has a perfect plan for everybody’s life because He loves us. But, we start being restless when we question these life-turning events or changes that God has built specifically for our lives.

Generally, our lives can be overwhelming. There’s no denying that life itself is exhausting with everything we have to put up for. We have people that inspire us or drag us, events that make or break us and the system itself seems repetitive if we don’t cast our trust in the Lord. However, if we do choose to rest in the Lord, all of life’s tiresome twists become blessings. So, let us not forget to start our day without feeling tired. Instead, we should feel energized, blessed, and saved since the Lord above is in control (Psalm 4:8).