Resting

I’ll refresh tired bodies; I’ll restore tired souls.

Ever just been tired?  Too exhausted to even take another step or get out of bed?  Just dreading making a move of any kind?  I think we have all been there at some point in our lives.  Often there is just not enough time in a day and we wear ourselves out trying to get everything done.  In today’s society there is not much time allotted for resting let alone actually sleeping 8 hours a day.  We hardly ever take time to rejuvenate our souls, minds and bodies.  No wonder we come to this place where nothing matters and we have no desire to do anything.

The word “rest” is mentioned 525 times in the King James version of the Bible, to me that makes it pretty important to God.  We were created for fellowship and in order to have a relationship with anyone including God, we need time.   Time to slow our lives down long enough to quiet our minds so that we can begin an intimate relationship.  How do we get to this point?  Where do we add an hour to any given day?  Do we skip breakfast to take time to rest?  Do we go to work an hour late?  Do we cut out family time to meet with God?

None of those options seem to make sense.  What it took for me was making time.  Yes it was a sacrificed period of time in my week to spend with Jesus.  It started on Saturday nights at a soaking service.  A 3 to 6 hour span of time to just sit in the presence of God.  I know it seems it bit extreme when before this I barely said good morning to Him.  I think I just got to a point where I was sick and tired of being sick and tired and I wanted desperately to be changed.  I wanted to experience rest and I needed it ever so badly.

As I began to spend my Saturday nights at church instead of sitting home on my Facebook or watching movies, I began to see Who  God really was.  As the weeks went by I began to include God into my daily life and soon He was a focus all the time.  Now I am to a place where I can pray and worship and have a living relationship with God all day  long.  From the moment I awake and say Good Morning Lord to the very end of my day.  I can pray anywhere, any time.  I can sing worship songs in my head even at work during our busiest rush.  The more I seek Him the more at rest I feel.

It all begins with our thought life.  What do we consume our thinking with?  Debt? Stress?  Worry?  Failures?  Future issues?  Past regrets?  There is so much that we think about that has nothing to do with God.  I challenge you to start talking to God.  Begin with a Good Morning and end with a Good Night.  It takes taking that first step.  Then include Him into your breakfast time or lunch hour.  Say a simple  random prayer here or there peppered throughout your day.  Soon before you even realize it, you are in a more intimate relationship with God than ever before.

Resting does not necessarily mean sleeping or sitting or lounging around, it is in the mind.  When our thought life includes God there is a lot less confusion and frustration going on in our minds.  When we are not consumed with all the things of this world, God can override and give us peace and rest.  With this mindset we can do anything we set our minds to.  Resting IN Him simple means we surrender our lives to Him.  We give Him permission to refuel our spirits and give refreshing to our minds.  Resting IN Him is what gets us from dot to dot in this crazy world.