“Come to me all you who are labor and burdened
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:28-30
John 17:3
To rest in
Jesus is to rest in His sovereign plan: His eternal purposes and His guidance
for our lives through the indwelling Holy Spirit. Here are four things that may
help you recognize the plan, release yourself to it, and rest in it.
First: There
is no plan B for the people of God. Each of us is “created in Christ Jesus to
do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10). Don’t
look at another’s gifts, lifestyle or seeming impact for the kingdom. Ask the
Holy Spirit to help you get past the superficialities and see what you can
learn from them that will impact your walk.
Second: God’s
kingdom is unseen and eternal, but we live in a culture that prizes both
materialism and instant results. As a child of God, you have been given an
eternal timeline and an eternal perspective. Cultivate them.
Third. The
only things that last for eternity are the souls of men and the Word of God.
Invest your time in people—including your own family. Pray for them, spend
unhurried time with them. Trust me, in ten years your children won’t remember
the names of the people on their baseball team or who came in first in the
play-offs, but they will remember family dinners.
Fourth: Look
at every activity through the lens of its value for the kingdom. Nothing beats
prayer. Our seven grand-children are all fairly young; this summer I began
praying seed prayers. When they come to mind or (as grandmas do) I worry about
their future I say something like this: Dear Lord, I am planting a seed for
Maddie. One day, in your time, it will sprout and bloom, May she come to know
you and love as her Lord. Amen.
Nancy S.
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