siLent Week 7, Rest

by | Apr 11, 2022 | siLent | 1 comment

Silence

Written by Mary & Jane

April 11, 2022

 

My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Exodus 33: 14

Rest. Let the word rest roll off your tongue. Just saying the word rest helps settle the soul. Rest in the Lord. Aren’t you glad we have a Lord who is so concerned about rest that He established a law about resting? The first thing God did for his people when He delivered them from Egyptian slavery was to establish a sabbath rest.

Rest.

In the Hebrew, nuah, means many things such as rest from enemies, freedom from suffering, to make quiet in the mind, a place of rest.

God provides us with a place of resting. Where is this resting place? Our verse provides the answer: in the Presence of God.

Rest of the Spirit

Because of the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God’s Presence is with us where ever we go. But how do we enter into His presence?  The same  way we do with other people. We can be in the same room with other people, but not be in their presence. We enter into the presence of others by engaging them in conversation.

Rest of Relationship

The deeper our relationship with another the deeper we can enter into their presence. This same concept applies even more so with God. We can enter the rest of His presence through conversational prayer, praise and worship, or God’s Word.

New Testament rest

The New Testament cofirms the concept of resting in His Presence In Matthew 11:28.

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. … Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
 
As we rest, we listen to God and wait on Him to do what only He can do. 
 
This reminds me of seed starting. When I start my seeds in the spring, I plant them with the expectation that they will grow. Some seeds are SO tiny that I think there’s no way anything could possibly happen. But I am always wrong. There is a resting time while God is working His miracle in the seed. Then comes the morning when I see the first sprout!
 
The same is true for us. As we rest from our labor, we wait on God to refresh us and give us new life. As we rest from our striving to change something and surrender it to God, He is working a miracle that only He can do. I don’t know how long it will take, or how small a seed of hope you have, but don’t give up. Keep praying and wait for the sprout!
 

Rest of Salvation

The only way to enter the rest of Christ is through the Cross. What better time to make this decision than Holy Week? Roman’s 10:9 says “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.'”
 

How to Accept Christ for your Savior:

  1. Admit to God that you are a sinner.
  2. Accept Jesus’ death on the cross as  payment for your sin.
  3. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and be your Savior.

If you just prayed the salvation prayer, please let us know in the comment section below. Welcome to the family of God.

Have a blessed, restful Holy Week.

Week 7 Journal Activities

  1. During this Holy Week, I want to encourage you to rest and wait on God. We all need times of physical rest for our bodies, and we all need time of rest for our souls. Figure out a way you can take a Sabbath rest on Sunday. What does that look like for you? This article Gift of Time and Sabbath Rest may be helpful. Then rest in your soul as you stop striving and wait on God to do something amazing for you in a situation you may have given up on. I don’t know how long you’ll have to wait, but I encourage you to identify your issue and write it in your journal. Now find a scripture and claim it for this situation and memorize it. 
  2. Next, let’s create for ourselves a tangible reminder of God’s amazing work that He does when we rest in Him. I’d like you to plant a seed. Buy a Jiffy pot, some seed starting mix, and a pack of seeds.  Fill the pot with seed starting mix. Wet the soil and let it drain. Plant 2 or 3 seeds in the pot. Keep it moist until it sprouts. Some easy seeds to try are marigold, calendula, sunflowers, or zinnias. Watch for the miraculous sprouting to occur! Remember, God is at work in your life, too, when you are resting and waiting. (If you’d like more information on seed starting, see this post about gardener extraordinaire, Rita Ward: Seed starting with Rita Ward.)
  3. Thank you for journeying with us through Lent on our way to Easter. We are so thankful for each one of you! Have a blessed, joyous Easter! Feel free to share any thoughts/insights/questions in the comments. We’d love to hear what’s on your mind.
journal entry

1 Comment

  1. Jane VanOsdol

    Rest is hard for me. There is always one more thing I want to do or accomplish. But God calls us to rest. He knows we are better when we rest. He even rests! A few weeks ago I made some changes to my Sunday so that I could rest. I didn’t run a bunch of errands. I took a walk, read a book, puttered in the garden, took a nap, and talked to friends and family. It was nice. I am working to make this more my normal Sunday.

    I have been planting lots of seeds for my garden. They are in the sprouting stage and every day when I check them, it’s always a miracle to see a new shoot poking up through the soil. New life. And that is what Jesus gives us. Happy Easter!

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

You May Also Like...

siLent Week 6, Renewed

siLent Week 6, Renewed

Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Ephesians 4:23   I love the word renewed. We take something old and make...

siLent Week 5, Meditate

siLent Week 5, Meditate

  Meditate on His Word day and night then you shall have good success. Joshua 1:8 Meditate. There is great...

siLent Week 4, Reflection

siLent Week 4, Reflection

  For this is what the Lord of Hosts says: consider carefully your ways. Haggai 1:7 Reflection Helps Us Get...

Pin It on Pinterest

Shares
Share This