“Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” Psalm 37:7
Ahhhh….rest. How that word often escapes me. Between my responsibilities as a mother, wife, employee, my church, family and friends; rest is almost a foreign word. Something always needs to be done, and in my world, it needs to be done right now.
But it’s not only tasks that I find difficult to rest from; in-fact most often I wish I could get my mind to rest. Anxious thoughts hit like waves crashing against rocks at the beach, and as soon as one thought goes, another one comes, not even giving me a chance to steady myself.
Unfortunately, that cycle of worry and anxious thoughts resulted in many sleepless nights, grumpiness, poor food choices and health issues; all until I received a revelation that God wanted me to bring everything I was anxious about to Him.
He was waiting for me to REST: Refrain from my anxious thoughts, Ease into His presence, Satisfy my needs through His word, and Transfer my burdens to Him.
So, when I feel myself drifting into unrest, I repeat the acronym above until I’m back in alignment. Resting in the knowledge that Gods plans are always much better than mine.
“Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest”. Matthew 11:28
When I give Him all that’s concerning me, I feel lighter because I am no long carrying the weight of tomorrow. I’m not going through my to-do-list over and over again; I’m not trying to control everything all of the time; I’m not concerning myself with things that haven’t happened yet, and in fact have a very low likelihood of even occurring; and I’m no longer taking on other people’s problems so that I can worry for them (how ridiculous is that!). I’m simply resting in the fact that the God of the universe has it all under control.
After many years of nursing this all-consuming stronghold, I came to the realization that when I worry it offends God. I’m actually saying, God I don’t trust you with this particular area of my life. I doubt that you can fix this problem, so I’ll worry, at least it feels like I’m doing something. Anything. But God says, “give me your anxious thoughts so that I can give you rest. My yoke is easy. Stop tormenting yourself. Give it all over to me. I’m big enough and strong enough to carry even your heaviest load.”
“I cast the whole of my cares (all of my anxieties, all my worries, all my concerns, once and for all) on Him, for He cares for me (affectionately and cares for me watchfully). 1 Peter 5:7
Angela Scott
CHM Contributor
