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Resting in the Lord

By-Crickettt

What does it actually mean to rest in the Lord? I have asked God this question many times. In Matthew 11:29, He tells us to come unto Him and we will find rest for our souls. The Noah Webster 1828 Dictionary gives several meanings for the word “rest”. To stop in motion or action of any kind: rest of body, mind, mental exertion and labor. To be quiet, at peace, sleep, and final hope. When we rest in the Lord, we are at peace knowing everything is in His hands for His plan and purpose. He is in control not us. We are assured of His presence in our lives. He gives us His peace; not like what the world gives. John 14:27

When I am at home, I sit down to rest from whatever work I have been doing. I call it, “Taking a Break” during my busy day. There are other times when I just look for a quiet place to stop and pray about things that may be bothering me or maybe painful stuff I am dealing with. In all my difficult moments, I am always talking to God because I know He sees me and is always listening. I may not actually see Him beside me, but I know He is there because He promised in His Word to be with me (Deut. 31:8). I believe in His love for me and I trust Him completely with all my hurt, sorrow and pain (Proverbs 3:5-6). There is no greater love than His love. He is the perfect Father and I am so glad that He is compassionate and merciful towards me every day of my life. I truly don’t know what I would do without Him. I never will feel worthy enough of His unconditional love, but I know Jesus made that way possible. I also know this much for certain, without Him I would not have made it this far!

I remember what it was like before I knew Jesus or first became aware of who He is. I accepted Jesus when I was 9 years old. I really wasn’t sure what all that meant at the time, but I did feel an urging in my heart that I didn’t understand. I went down to the alter that night at the front of the church because two of my friends did. However, I do believe that was the start of something He was doing in my life. Looking back, I can see that God was calling me, but I had a lot more to learn. It wasn’t until I was 12 years old, at a youth camp revival, that I rededicated my life to Jesus after the youth director talked to us about how Jesus gave His own life for us so we could be set free from sin and death. He described in full what happened to Jesus when He was crucified on the cross for our sins. He told us that Jesus had made the way for anyone to have eternal life if they would ask for forgiveness of all their sins and accept Him into their hearts. He said, the Holy Spirit would come and live in us and He would guide us in our lives and in our walk with Him. I remember how emotional I was that night and for the first time, I saw Jesus and His love for me. It was such a surreal moment and that was the turning point in my life that would change everything for me. Even though I was still living through chaos, I had His love to help me and protect me. I knew I would never be alone again.

You see, before I accepted Jesus into my heart, my life was in shambles and very painful. Growing up, I was tossed back and forth into so many different foster homes, wondering what it would be like to actually feel loved and wanted. I was never a problem child, I kept quiet and to myself and did what I was told out of fear. I was moved from one temporary home to another. Nothing was ever permanent. The one thing I did cherish was the times I got to be with my siblings until once again, I was taken to another home. I never fit in anywhere and most of the homes I lived in were not good and abusive to me. Those memories are things that have effected my life negatively in different ways to this day so, we’ll just leave it at that.  

I have struggled throughout my entire life, trying to please people, make others happy, often putting on a fake smile and pretending everything was fine, while deep inside I was crying out to God for rest and comfort. The anxiousness, insomnia, pain, and hurt from all those past memories never goes away completely, it lingers somewhere deep within me like a video, bringing up the past along with the tears of a neverending story playing over and over in my head. I questioned the Lord a lot as I was growing up wondering why this all happened to me and what was His purpose for my life. I didn’t know it then, but God was doing a work in me that would one day slowly be revealed.

As the years went by and through many tough decisions, failures, setbacks, resentments and regrets along the way, I came to a place of finally crying out to God for help. I always kept up this huge wall between me and other people. I told myself I would never let anyone get that close to me or become vulnerable to them any longer. I was so tired of people hurting me the way they did while I was growing up. I lost faith in people, even those who I thought I could trust. I was always on my guard and exhausted from constantly watching out for myself. I was still new in my Christian walk and kept those old habits for years thinking that, “If I’m gonna make it, I have to be the one to take care of myself”. That was the “Big Lie” Satan had fed my mind for years. It kept me from really knowing Who God is and who I am to Him. I would not allow myself to get too close to anyone to avoid the pain of being used.  

At the age of 29, something began to change. I got to a place where I needed answers and I needed to know that I truly was loved and protected like I had heard and read about before in my Bible. I needed to know that God was for me and not against me. My life was spiraling down more and more. I had let everything that was happening around me take control and I drifted away from studying my Bible. I had allowed so much fear to build up and that wall I made for myself was not coming down. However, when I finally broke down in tears examining my life and begging God to help me, in that very moment the Spirit of God changed something from within. I felt a deep, desperate urge to read my Bible again, and if I did, the answers to all my years of questioning would slowly be revealed. So, I got out my Bible and dusted it off, found some Bible Study materials I had packed away and began to read. It was truly baby steps for me because in that current time I was also going through some traumatic stuff with people in my life and praying for strength to get through it. I just wanted to keep moving forward no matter what! The Lord took me through my walk with Him one step at a time because I was still in a place of confusion, hurt and vulnerability in my life, so it was difficult to maneuver through the pain. It all just seemed to follow me all my life; the wrong people, circumstances, decisions and ever growing trust issues. God saw me that whole time and finally got my attention! He knew I was ready to put it all aside and reach out my hand to Him for help. He had been waiting on me all that time and all those wasted years as I wandered needlessly struggling on my own, to come back to Him so He could put all my broken pieces back together again. I had always felt lonely and paralyzed inside to the world around me, always fearful of what was next, so fearful of being abandoned over and over again with no one I could trust. 

This time was different, and I was becoming different with each passing day, moment by moment with Him teaching me and showing me what real love looked like. I had read my Bible here and there during my teens and did attend church for that period of time, but back then, I was more interested in my friends than paying attention. I prayed and talked to God when I needed help or something from Him, but I never quite understood how very precious His love was toward me.  

So, there I was, 29 and looking for real answers. In my eyes, I had wasted way too much time and had developed so much hurt and anger inside towards others near me. I couldn’t trust anyone anymore. The damage had been done, so I thought, but God had a different plan. It was time to show me something I had missed out on all my life and that knowledge would change everything for me from that moment on. I didn’t have to pretend to be someone I wasn’t just to have people care about me or like me. I didn’t have to be afraid to be myself. It didn’t matter if anyone understood why I was reading and focused on changing through God’s guidance because He had become my very breath each new day and my only hope for survival. I was tired and so ready for something real in my life that would not leave or forsake me. I needed to know that I actually mattered in this world and that I was not just a meaningless dot on this planet rotating in space. I was tired of the fact that others would abuse me without cause or take me for granted thinking it was o.k. to do whatever they wanted in order to hurt me. I needed what I had never known before. I needed a way out of the pit of darkness that I felt I was trapped in. But, most of all, I needed God’s love to carry me through my life.

It was real, unlike anything I had ever known. My life was changing each day. The more He poured into me, the more His love was reflected on the outside of me. The wall I had kept up since the time I was a little girl, was slowly coming down, brick by brick. I felt a love and trust begin to grow in me that I could not explain even to myself. The person I kept hidden within was suddenly blossoming into a young woman excited to wake up in the wee hours of each morning to pray and talk to God and read my Bible and study. I kept reading and learning and I could literally hear His still small voice guiding me through answers to those questions I carried inside so many years. I understood….finally, I could see! What I had gone through all my life, God was using all that bad brought on by others to bring me to a place in Him where I could finally be free! Free from the constant longing and searching! I now knew where to find rest and peace for my soul. It was in Him! This whole time, rest was in the knowing of His love, feeling His love, and experiencing His love. I was learning how to trust in Him first so I could learn to forgive myself and forgive others who had hurt me so much.  

During all that time of reading, the devil was on a roll. He was mad that I was leaning on God and not afraid of his evil tactics any longer. He was trying to keep me in his prison of fear and anxiety so, he started using the people around me, those I loved, to hurt me even more. This time, the difference was, I became stronger in the Lord. I was not that little girl anymore who would coward down to others out of fear. The more I forgave them in my heart, the more God dealt with them while they were hurting me and He caused them to back off. The battles didn’t belong to me anymore, they were God’s battles now and He is always the Victor and Overcomer of all things. God knew what I needed in every moment and what it would take for me to become a whole person. I had to learn to break free from the hold others had on me, but with God leading the way, it was possible. His way is always perfect! We are all flawed human beings, and only God knows everything about us. He will allow us to go through some things that we won’t understand in that moment until He brings us out on the other side of it all. Jesus said, in this world we would have tribulations but to be of good cheer for he has already overcome the world (John 16:33). The lesson is, “It’s not about the trial we face, but how we face the trial”. How do we handle the junk that is thrown our way in life? I can say this for sure, in my own life, the stuff I have had to deal with and what I still go through even now; I could not have gotten through any of it by my own way of doing things. Only God can bring us through it and out of every obstacle in our way, just by believing and trusting Him for the right outcome. Every trial and test makes us stronger and more knowledgeable. We know we can be ready for what’s next by His mercy and grace alone.  

I personally know this to be true of my own life. We all experience things differently. I know people that do not let stuff even bother them because they keep looking forward and pressing on. I used to wonder how they did that, but now I see what they’re saying, when they are living for Jesus. They’ve learned how to persevere under difficult conditions with the help of the Lord guiding them. They’ve learned how to “Be still and wait on the Lord”, like God teaches in His Word. When we wait on God, He moves mountains on our behalf to bring us into His perfect Will, Plan, and Path that He designed from the beginning of our lives. There truly is no other way to endure or rest and find peace except through Jesus. 

When I finally saw the true meaning behind what Jesus did for you and me on the cross, it opened my eyes to what real love means. Jesus willingly came to this earth and gave up His life so we could have eternal life with Him by repenting of our sins, accepting Him as our Lord and Saviour and believing that He was risen from the dead on the third day. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of His Father in heaven. He is coming again to take us to be with Him forever one day soon. It’s that simple to receive salvation and eternal life with Jesus. Behind all that lies an even greater meaning, Jesus gave His life because He first loved us. When He was dying on the cross, He saw each one of us. The Bible says, “Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends”. John 15:13. Jesus paid the ultimate price for all of us, so we would not have to face eternal death. Because of His sacrifice, there is no greater love ever known to man than the gift of eternal life which Jesus freely gave to us.

The years have gone by even more now, since the time my life was dramatically changed by God’s Word and His intervention. I can deal with the problems, hurts, and pressures still facing me by simply knowing I am not alone anymore. God is with me each step of the way. My eyes are fixed on Him and what He wants for my life instead of what I want. I have given it all over to Him because I trust that He alone knows what is best for me.  

That wall I put up came down with His help because I chose to obey His call to me saying, “Come Know Me As You Have Always Been Known By Me”. This was a loud voice I heard one day while sitting at my computer years ago. I will never forget it! I sat there and cried because for the first time in my life, I heard and knew that God has been with me my entire life and He knew everything about me from the inside-out. (Jeremiah 1:5). There was nothing about me that was ever hidden from Him. The Bible says, He sees every sin, thought, word, and action we have ever done or still do whether good or bad (Job 34:21)(Luke 12:2-3). The Bible tells us to confess our sins because He is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Always guard your heart for what comes out of your mouth is what’s really embedded inside your heart (Proverbs 4:23) That is why we are told to examine what is in our heart so we can ask the Father to, “Create in me a clean heart O’ God and renew a right Spirit within me”. (Psalms 51:10) and (Psalms 139:23-24).

In this world we will always have to experience hurt, pain, sorrow, misfortunes, etc. because we live in a fallen world. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for anyone he can steal, kill, destroy, and devour (1 Peter 4:8). Since he cannot be everywhere at the same time like God can (Proverbs 15:3), the devil uses his demons (fallen angels) to do his dirty work for him. That is why we are warned over and over to be on guard always and keep God’s Word embedded in our hearts at all times. We are told to resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7). You resist the devil by using God’s Word spoken against him and do not entertain his evil thoughts or acts that he uses to deceive you with. It is a matter of discerning right from wrong (Isaiah 5:20). God’s Holy Spirit will give you that inner knowing and teach you all things (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit is within us from the beginning of our salvation through Jesus, however, we are the ones who freely choose which voice we follow. The Bible says that Sin always brings death, but obeying God brings eternal life in Him through Jesus which is the greatest rest of all (Romans 6:23).

 I have learned that rest comes in many different ways, but the greatest rest and peace is found in Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. (Isaiah 26:3), (John 14:27)

The story of my life isn't quite finished yet, God is still writing new pages day by day and filling them with His love.  My battles are fought on my knees now in prayer as He continues to remove the old and bring out the new within me.  My greatest desire is to be totally changed into the person He intended me to be all along. 

1Corinthians 13:12-For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.

"Father, let my life be lived out according to the Book you wrote about me."  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen and Amen.  I am forever yours.

**This is great message from Jonathan Cahn that needs to get into all our hearts.  Keep getting up when you fall and Persevere until the end. 

 https://youtube.com/shorts/T_3mHK9zmcQ?is=GMVGdkp5zj-aSPq6

All scripture used from: https://bible.com NKJV

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**All scripture quotes in each blog originates from their various Bible translations listed.