\u201cI am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.\u201d Psalm 62:1 CSB
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Rest is something we don\u2019t do enough of in our lives. I just googled \u201cbenefits of rest\u201d to see what would pop up. It\u2019s amazing what rest does for us: boosts our immune system, improves our memory, restores and energizes, stimulates creativity, and it really does make you more beautiful. Yet we don\u2019t do it. We let fret and worry steal this valuable asset from us. We don\u2019t schedule in down time in our schedules. When we\u2019re budgeting our time, rest is the first thing to go out the window. What are we to do?
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Start with resting in God.
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A pastor at a church we visited recently while traveling used this analogy. There was a man cutting firewood. He was using an ax and his muscle. He was able to cut about a cord and a half of wood a day (equivalent to a pick up truck filled to the brim, and overflowing). Deciding there had to be a better way, he goes to the hardware store and asks the salesman about a chainsaw. The salesman shows him the best they have. He told him he would be able to cut at least 6 cords a day of wood. \u201cSold\u201d says the man, and off he goes with his new chain saw. The next day he returns to the store, plops it on the counter and informs the salesman it doesn\u2019t work. He wants his money back, he barely got a cord of wood chopped with it. Stumped, the salesman looks it over. He checks the gas, yes there is gas. He looks at the spark plugs, all seems to be well. He pulls back the chord a few times and the chainsaw roars to life. The man\u2019s face is filled with surprise as he asks the salesman, \u201cWhat\u2019s that noise?\u201d
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The man didn\u2019t know how to use the chainsaw properly. He didn\u2019t turn it on, He didn\u2019t tap into its power, as a result, he didn\u2019t receive the benefit from it that it offered him. We\u2019re the same way when we don\u2019t tap into the power of God. One of the tools He has given us is rest, specifically resting in Him. Trusting that whatever troubles you\u2019re facing, God is bigger than them. Trusting that you can schedule downtime into your schedule and the world really won\u2019t come to an end. Trusting that when you lay your head on your pillow, close your eyes, allow your mind to shutdown and sleep, you are doing one of the holiest things you can do. You are resting in Him, restoring and renewing your strength, improving your health in countless ways, and allowing God to do what only He can do.
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I love what Rick Warren says, \u201cSometimes the holiest thing you can do is take a nap.\u201d It\u2019s true, when you rest and refresh yourself, you\u2019re more equipped to help and care for others. God even commands it, on the 7th day we are to rest and do no work (Exodus 34:21 NIV). God has given you the tools in Him. In Him you can rest, gas is full, spark plugs are working, all you have to do is pull the chord.
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\u201cI am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.\u201d Psalm 62:1 CSB Rest is something we don\u2019t do enough of in our lives. I just googled \u201cbenefits of rest\u201d to see what would pop up. It\u2019s amazing what rest does for us: boosts our immune system, improves our memory, restores and energizes,… Continue reading LET REST INTO YOUR LIFE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":835,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions\/835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}