Month: December 2019

“Then He said to His disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat; or about the body, what you will wear.”  Luke 12:22 CSB

The subtitle in my Bible before this verse reads, “The Cure for Anxiety.” Have you ever thought about how anxiety is a go to emotion? We are all anxious about something.  I wonder what would happen if you asked a random stranger if they had any anxieties. If they were being honest, I think they would say yes. People lie all the time to cover up their true feelings. 

We are all worried about something. There’s something in our life that we can’t control, and it worries us. For instance, my husband is travelling for work this week. I get anxious when he travels because I can’t control what may or may not happen.  I worry about his safety. That is one anxiety I have. During the holidays anxiety in all of our lives increases. Will they like my present? How am I going to pay for all of these presents? Who are we going to say no too? Who is going to be mad we didn’t go to their party instead of someone else’s party?  The list of anxieties is endless. We live in an anxious world, surrounded by anxious people. But that is not life with Jesus. Life with Jesus, no matter what is going on around us, is calm.

How do we find calm in the midst of the holiday madness?  How can we not let our anxieties control us? How can we find rest?  The answer is found in Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Phil. 4:6-7 NIV

When we find ourselves consumed with worry and anxiety, pray.  Let worry be your indicator to talk to God. For me, that means I’m always praying.  I think I came out of my mother’s womb worrying. But when I use my worry as a sign to talk to God, then I find peace.  When I release to Him whatever burden is on my heart, I find rest. Think of worry as your “Check Engine” light, the minute it comes on, it’s your sign to go to the Mechanic.  No one else can take away your worries like He can. No one else can minister to an aching soul like He can. No one else can give you calm like He can.

Today I’m going to find rest by seeking His calm.  How are you going to find rest today? Comment below.

“God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from all of His work.” Genesis 2:2 CSB

I have the first part of this verse underlined in my Bible, there is an arrow pointing to the words, “Resting is Holy” in the margin.  As we enter into one of the most hectic months of the year for most people, remembering that resting is Holy may just help us enjoy the season a little more.  Each day I’m going to ask you how you are going to find rest that day. I loved in November hearing what everyone was thankful for each day. I think the interactions helped us all grow, helped us all be thankful, helped us all focus on what God has done for us.  I’m hoping to keep the conversation going about rest. Let’s all help each other grow together by answering the question and encouraging each other.

Thinking about doing an entire month of rest, I wanted a game plan of where we would start, and where we would finish.  As I started to research I came across this article by Bonnie Gray.  She makes the point that rest is one of only three ambitions we have as stated in the New Testament.   The other two, according to her, are preach the Gospel (Romans 15:20 NIV) and please God (2 Cor. 5:9 NIV).   I haven’t done enough research to say whether I agree or not with whether those are the only ambitions, but I did find the verses she was referring to which makes rest an ambition for us:

“Make it your goal to live a quiet {restful} life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.” 1 Thessalonians 4:11 NLT

Let’s make it our ambition this month to be holier than ever by resting.  Let’s not let the activities of the season make us lose focus on what is really important, living a restful life in God.  Because it is only through our relationship with Him we can truly find rest. As we progress through this month, we’ll learn about ways to rest (hopefully), ways to release our cares to Him, ways to connect with the One who has all the answers to all of our questions.  Rest is more than just a nice thought, it’s a way of life. God set the example from the beginning, He worked six days and rested on the seventh (Genesis 2:2 NIV).  He meant it to be a part of our lives too.

Today, I am going to find rest by making it my ambition for the next month.  How can you find rest today? Comment below.