Many people struggle with resting and being still. It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are, man or woman. Some of us have a hard time resting and just being still.
When I was a young mom, resting was only something I could do in the bathtub, and only if I locked the door. If everyone cooperated, I could be still when the boys went to bed at a decent time. But wait, I had tasks to take care of before I could even kick back at 9pm!
I used to feel like I constantly needed to be doing something productive. I have learned during the times of being ill how to rest and be still.
The Bible teaches us about rest and being still. In the following passage, David is being tormented.
Psalm 62:1 Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him. This means to be silent, quiet and still.
Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” “Be still” is actually “rapha” which means to be weak, to let go, to release… essentially, it means surrender.
And in the New Testament, “rest” is defined as settling down, ceasing, give intermission from labor, refresh.
Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Hebrews 4:11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
In our quest/need/desire to stay busy “doing” things for the Father, we miss REST and BEING STILL. We miss the joy of His grace and peace that He promised in our lives.
I am not talking about the type of rest we need to be healthy, although there is total validity in that… I am talking about the type of REST that allows us to be all God created us to be. The type of surrender that allows us to be STILL within our hearts, even if chaos is raining down all around us.
We can quit striving, quit trying, quit doing and simply listen, be still. I personally have missed plenty by being so busy. I have crowded out His voice time and time again. I don’t do it on purpose. None of us do…. we are just used to noise and activity. (I have often said that this is the enemy’s greatest tool… keeping us too busy!)
The writer of Hebrews wrote about learning to rest and how the Israelites did not do it. They wandered so long and missed the promised joy of God.
Hebrews 4:1-3 “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.”
I came up with this simple acronym:
R…… relying on E…… establishing S…… surrender T…… to Him alone.
That is it. Relying on and establishing surrender to Him alone…. allow Christ to be my life. Inside, outside, backward, forwards. Not an effort…but a surrender and allowing Him to be the very air we breathe.
We can be amid those swirling circumstances, while being surrendered in our hearts, and resting and still in our soul.
He provides that because HE loves you that much!
Be Encouraged dear ones!
Tammy Allgaier is married to Alphonse (42 years), proud mom and mom-in-love to Austin and Brittany and Taylor and Brittany. She is also a grandmother to precious Norah and a new grandchild in November 2021. Tammy is a retired special education teacher, current author, blogger and part-time radio announcer for WBVN. As with many, 2020-2021 proved to be a year of challenges. Valley Fever, a couple of skin cancers, Covid, loss of loved ones and yet; God never left her side and proved faithful, as always. She has a website with her husband, www.apenandbrush.com, where they share their creative designs, books and encouraging blog posts. She has also has maintained a blog over the last nine years, “Encouragement for Today” at www.yelobrd777.com As an author, she has written: “Peace in the Midst” Book 1 of the UNEXPECTED GIFT series released November ’18 “Seaside Change-A Novella w/Companion 30 Day Devotional and Discussion Guide” released August ’19. “Take Heart” the second book in the UNEXPECTED GIFT Series should be released December ’21. Tammy loves jeep’n, good books, a sweet Netflix series and sitting on the back porch with her husband and pup, Oscar, watching the birds and drinking coffee. And she will continue to pray, write, encourage, others and fall more and more in love with Jesus.
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