Finding His Rest

The Lord has been speaking to me a lot about His rest. He has shown me how He is our safe haven (a place of refuge and security). God is our safe place; He wants to cuddle us in His arms so that we can rest in Him.

“He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.” (Isaiah 40:29-31 AMP)

For the past few weeks I have felt such desperation for Him; a place where my only satisfaction is found when I separate myself from this world, from media and from the business of everyday life; A desire to live “in Him” continually. As John 15:7 says:

“If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7 AMP)

When we separate and position ourselves before The Lord, He is able to share His secrets and desires; He is able to open His heart with us. As we submit to The Lord, He is able to work in and through us. There is such a great need in this hour to increase our communion with Him so that He is able to transform us into His image.

In His Presence we find peace, rest, and healing. Waiting before Him we are able to receive the revelation of His secrets. When we abide in Him we become like Him. I looked up the word abide and it means “to remain, to stay, to wait for, to continue in a particular relationship.”

“HE WHO dwells (abides) in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!” (Psalm 91:1, 2 AMP)

The Lord yearns for our attention, our focus, and our company. It is His desire to spend extensive time with us as any bridegroom would want with His Bride. He longs for relationships with us that are so real and so deep that we hear His heartbeat. That is what I hear the Holy Spirit calling us to.

God is yearning for an intimacy with us that is more than just Sunday morning service. He desires a place in our lives that involves every second of the day devoted to Him. He longs to give us a Revelation 4:1-2 encounter saying,

“After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.”

His bride will be a remnant of people that will open their hearts to Him and allow His secret desires to be imparted. Our hearts must be broken for the things that break His. His bride is to be a reflection of Him and the embodiment of His character. But we must first deny ourselves as it says in Matthew 16:24. Denying ourselves is not done weekly, or when we feel motivated or desperate; but this denying must be done on a daily basis with every waking moment surrendered to His will.

Wade Taylor explains it well, he says “This taking up our cross means that we “die” to the right as we please, and surrender “unconditionally to the Lordship of Jesus. For us to do this, requires a specific act on our part in which we vocally take this right to do as we please that we gained through the transgression of Adam, and give it back to the Lord.”

We were created for a great purpose that makes life truly worth living. Part of that is to help bring in the fullness of His reward and to be restored back into God’s original plan. We must abide in Him and He in us as verified in John 15:4.

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

When we fully yield our will to Him, He is then able to occupy us and provide the strength we need. In that place we will find His promised rest. Then we are transformed into His image and ask for great things from God. We will receive them because we are so like Him that what we request is from His heart, not our human desires and aspirations.

Oh how I long to hear His voice proclaiming to me as it says in Matthew 25:23:

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’’

What an honor it would be to be presented before the Lord and hear him express His joy in us as good and faithful servants. That is my earnest prayer; that everything in my life would be fruitful for His kingdom. If there should be anything in my life that does not bear fruit, then it must be pruned.

The Lord loves to answer those prayers, and does not waste any time! It has been a season, in my life and I am sure others, of removing things that do not bear fruit for Him. I am so thankful that He is jealous for me and does not allow me to be conformed to this world.

Draw near to The Lord, for He has many secrets of the Kingdom that He is ready to share. He is looking for a remnant willing to be vessels that His Kingdom can be manifested through us. He is our Resting Place, and when we rest in Him we are strengthened by Him to accomplish the fullness of our destiny!