ARE YOU RESTED?

On August 2nd I posted ARE YOU SETTLED? I shared about how God wants us to be settled in our homes. But forgive me, I forgot to send you Part 2, ARE YOU RESTED? So here it is for you today.

Did you know that God wants our homes to be places of rest? “Help! How do I manage that?” you reply! “How can I rest with screaming toddlers all around me and so much going on? I’m in a state of tension, not rest!”

I know life can be overwhelmingly busy for you when you have little ones, and even middling and big ones! But God has provided a place of rest for us even in the midst of our busy lives. Hebrews 4:9, 10 says: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”

Do you notice that this Scripture speaks about God’s rest, not our rest? We can’t live in rest trying to find our own rest. Our rest is in Christ, as we abide in Him and He abides in us. Jesus Christ lives in rest. Nothing takes Him by surprise. He doesn’t ever get into a turmoil. Everything is under His control. And he lives in you and me! What more do we need?

Back in Bible days, God rested in the Holy of holies so that He could be near His people. Now He wants to rest in your heart and in your home, for God is a "dwelling God."

Psalm 132:13-14 says: "For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it." God desires a resting place. He wants to rest in your home, but He can't do this if you don't believe your home is your resting place.

Proverbs 24:15: "Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous, spoil not his resting place." Don’t let anything or anyone spoil your resting place. Don’t allow worries and anxieties to spoil your resting place. What are you worrying about when the God of rest who has everyone under His command dwells in you?

Isaiah 32:18: "My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."

I believe it is important for us to find "rest" in our home and in our mothering. When you are settled and rested in it, you will be at peace. Of course, I don't mean you will live a life of ease with nothing to do but lie on the sofa and read books! Motherhood can be a hectic and demanding life. How could it be anything else when you are determining the future destiny of a nation? But in the midst of accomplishing all you must do, you can have a spirit of rest and peace, knowing that you are in the perfect will of God.

Many times, we don’t live in rest because we are unnecessarily busy. We are doing too much outside the home instead of being content to do what God has given us in the home. If we rush about here and there and are forever in the car taking our children to this and that, we can get weary and exhausted.

God holds the secret for us. He says in Hosea 11:11 (Knox): “IN THEIR OWN HOME, the Lord says, I will give them rest.” You will find rest in your home, not gadding about everywhere.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell