Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most
High will rest in the shadow of the
Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge
and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
- Psalm 91:1-2
As I mentioned before, God has brought me into a season of
rest. I had in my mind what I thought
that might look like, and of course God has slowly been showing me what
He meant for this time and what He means when He commands me/us to rest.
Like any good Christian, when I first heard God talk to me about rest, I of course went to the Bible and looked
up the word rest. I quickly found myself
in Hebrews 3 and 4 meditating on the fact that God told the Israelites it was
because of their unbelief they would
never enter His rest.
What a massive statement God makes as He declares that because of their unbelief they would never enter His rest. At this point I perked up a bit and realized I need to get rid of any unbelief I might have.
So I started asking myself questions like, What areas am I not trusting Him?
What am I finding it hard to believe Him for?
Where do I not have peace and rest in my heart? etc...etc...
As I did this, I more and more realized the simple equation God give us.
Unbelief = No Rest No
Rest = Unbelief It's not rocket science I know :)
God had been so faithful to the Israelites providing for
them again and again in the desert and now just as God was going to set them
free, they crumpled. They probably felt
abandoned and alone, wondering why He had brought them here, if only to bring
them to ultimate destruction.
Can anyone relate?
They had lost hope.
As they looked ahead, they could only see defeat.
They could only see giants in the land. They were looking
with human eyes.
Can anyone relate?
It’s easy to read the scriptures and see that God’s hand was
all over Israelites saving them time and time again. Their clothes or shoes never wore out. They didn’t go hungry. They saw the hand of
the Lord time and time again.
WAKE UP, Israelites! You are in a desert. Who do you think
has been providing for you all this time?
Recognize, Israelites! Recognize!
Did they even RECOGNIZE Him in
the desert?
Did they recognize Him as provider, guide, and
comforter? Their everything?
The simple act of recognizing God through the seasons, whether good or
bad or hard, causes us to remember Him in the transition, in the
change.
Recognize and Remember.
They go hand in hand.
Recognizing God today, whatever season you are in, ushers you
into the ability to Remember Him.
If you grew up in church you have probably heard your pastor talk about this word remember and the importance of remembering God's faithfulness.
Remember. Remember.
What a powerful word.
The Israelites forgot.
They forgot to remember.
They had forgot His faithfulness.
They forgot His consistent provision over their life.
This word is much more than a mere memorable thought but
instead it carries power to RELEASE MORE into the next season. As I reflected on the power of recognizing and remembering, I realized the snowball effect it has on your heart and your faith.
The snowball goes like this...
Recognizing He’s with you, allows you to
Remember His Faithfulness, and
Reminds you He is Faithful, which
Re-ignites your Faith for more!
Now that's a weapon of a snowball.
The Israelites lost their ability to trust Him for
more. All their hope was gone.
I can only wonder if recognizing and remembering Him in the desert, would have produced faith and belief in their heart to trust Him as they entered the land.
As God calls me to a time of rest, I am realizing He's cultivating in me a lifestyle of rest. This lifestyle begins with recognizing and remembering but has the power to release this snowball effect in my heart. It's all starting to make sense why God commands us to rest! :)
Snowball Weapon:
Recognizing He’s with you, allows you to
Remember His Faithfulness, and
Reminds you He is Faithful, which
Re-ignites your Faith for more!
May our belief in Him today allow Him to give us REST!
Because at the end of the day, I want more FAITH!
