Learning to Rest in God
Learning to rest in God has been challenging for me through the years. My natural speed is fast. I have always worked hard and fast. I am always trying to figure out another way to make an impact in this life. When I was young I didn’t know the Lord and worked hard to get myself educated. I would work 32 hours a week and go to University full time. This didn’t affect my grades at all. I ended up graduating at the top of my class. Perhaps you are like me and you work too hard sometimes. It can be hard to rest. It can be hard to just set back and enjoy time. I can always see the next thing that can be done. The next article that can be written. The next painting to be painted. The next church to connect with. The next piece of the administrative puzzle that needs to be done to do what I do. And yet, I feel God is strongly saying that he is calling us to learn to rest more in this hour. I have a huge vision for revival in Canada, the USA and the world. I really believe we are going to see millions saved in large scale meetings around the world. God has shown me that I myself will see this, but right now I have no understanding on how to do it. If this is going to be a part of my life then I will have to enter into a different reality than what I am in right now. In the last year I have ministered in 14 to 16 nations and prophesied over thousands of people and yet I have not seen nearly what I want to see. God is preparing us. He is in the process of shifting the wineskins in order for us to enter into the place of greater move that is going to take place. I was praying recently asking God if I will see this move that will take place. He said to me you will see it but you have to rest in my presence and stop worrying about the details. He pretty much said he doesn’t need me to sit around worrying about the salvations that are coming, but when the time is right I will enter into that time in my life. Now for someone like me who is driven this kind of word is difficult because of part of me wrestles with the idea that there is nothing I can do to make this happen. But I had another dream. The Lord showed me that if I continued on the path that I am going, working as hard as I am working then I will burn out too young. As if these two words were not enough I heard another speaker that I admire say that she only works about 15 to 20 hours per week and the rest of the time she just hangs out with the ones she loves. This is not my life, but I want it to become my life. I want to enter into the place of faith where I can do more in less time and feel more rested. My heart is not to burn however unless the Lord intervenes and reveals the better way for me then that is what might happen. We need to hear his voice clearly and enter into this rest (Hebrews 4). We need to practice the Sabbath Rest and we need to rest when God tells us to rest. One of the fears that rises in me is will God provide for my seasons of rest. In my mind know that he will but my behavior says otherwise. Therefore I must labor to enter into his rest trusting that he will provide for it. If you remember the Israelite people were told to let the land lie follow one in seven years and God provided for them during that time (Exodus 23:11). So God will provide for us as we do as his word says. So we need to know the word. God must enter more fully into our primary thoughts and be at the forefront of our minds. As he has the precedence we will hear him more clearly and as we obey we will find more enjoyment in our work and in our rest. I pray that God teaches us both the great blessing of the truths that I am trying to teach today. Pray for me as I pray for you.
