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. That is what 2 Corinthians 4 verse 16 says. This however is not a natural disposition for many of us. Many of us are like Doctor Strange in infinity war. Except instead of worrying for a moment, this is our permanent state of mind. Inspite of the fact that we know that Jesus says of his yoke, it is easy and that his burden is light.
How then do we take advantage of resting in God? How do we make his promise our daily reality? To be honest-I am often the worrier. My mind endlessly computing possibilities and my heart anxious and in turmoil; wondering if at all I will indeed the fullness of God’s purposes for me. it is easy for me to visualize scenarios, I am creative and imaginative by design and I know just how real our current dilemmas can be, and why it can be very hard to learn to be at rest.
Along the way however, I have paid attention to what has helped me; and what has carried me through some of my most difficult personal moments. Moments such as waiting 9 months after graduating with a first class degree to get a job or when I ruined a rental car and did not know what the consequences would be for me. It includes times like today, when the currency volatility in my nation means I have in-spite of being promoted effectively received a pay-cut and have a strong desire to provide a stable home for my wife, with a fully paid for home and no lack. It is this that has worked for me, that I will share today and hope that it will help you as well.
Read your Bible
It sounds obvious, but many times it can seem like like gets in the way of our good intentions to do so. My schedule often starts at 4:30 in the morning, when I wake up to heat up my bath water so that by 5:30 I am on the bus to work. I get home between 6:25 and 6:45, and between then and bedtime, there is cooking, dishes, family time. As well as left over work on some days. So I know just how hard it can be to find time to read your bible. And by read, I mean just read, not study or memorize or do anything extra-spiritual.
Not that there is anything wrong with it, but I feel in our quest for a deeper spiritual understanding, we have allowed ourselves to forget the benefits that come from simply reading. A chapter a day, 2 chapters. I find when I read, the Holy Spirit often highlights truths from whichever passage I may be reading that help to give me peace and hope in my present moment. All I need to do is simply read with an open heart; knowing he cares and loves me and will speak to me through His word.
In terms of strategy, I often read on the bus on my way from work. In the morning, I am often too drowsy and I simply fall asleep in the first ten to twenty minutes of the 80 minute journey. So I find afternoons a lot easier to go through my reading and I often follow that up with a podcast. This is not to say I read habitually perfectly-weekends are still an on and off engagement. As well as extended times away from work, but it is a journey.
Turn of your TV/Social Media
We are very connected today. We can access instant news wherever we go. At any time, I can connect with someone across the world. For everything, there is a season and we need to take this to our time in front of the television. The negative effects of these are well documented in various places. Many of us are aware of this, some of us aren’t but too often, we do not pay attention to this.
It is just to easy to scroll on twitter and get lost on several different trends, tweets, retweets and comments or to sit in front of the television and watch 6 episodes on Netflix without keeping track of time. I know personally; for recently I binge-watched all 3 seasons of the Netflix show Trollhunters in 3 days over this lock-down. In the heat of the moment, it is easy to rationalise and tell yourself that it is just one more episode. Just a few more minutes and I will get to what I really want to do.
The problem with a lot of social media and television is we are merely consumers to what we are being told. Willingly, we absorb ourselves in an alternate reality and focus all our energy to seeing how things will go. We take the emotional rollercoaster but at the end of it we are mostly unchanged. We are able to sleep-not because we have found a place of hope and faith and rest, but because in that moment our issues are not as real as the show we are watching or the trends we are following on social media.
Most tragically, we do not know or see how different our lives would be apart from social media. I think what these two media have most successfully done is rob us of the ability to see the seeds of greatness in each and every one of us and begin to accept that it is more important to be entertained than to be everything God intended for us. Second to this, would be the capacity it has to convince us that our lives are a lot worse than they actually are. And we succumb to believing that a good life is defined by one thing-picture perfect. This could not be farther from the truth.
So from time to time, we need to turn it off. Turn it off so we can connect with our family. Turn it off so that we can actually take the time to look at the stars and count our blessings. Turn it off to take a walk and allow yourself to vent some steam. Turn it off to realise you have a lot more time to do the important things-prayer, bible reading, worship-than you ever thought you had.
Listen to worship music
This song by Kristene DiMarco is one of my absolute favourites. I listened to it on the way to the interview to be a graduate learner. I listened to it before my presentations that would determine whether or not I got a raise. And today, I need to listen to it even more.
Worship music reminds us of who God is. It tells us of what He has done; and we are reminded both of the deeds and the nature of God. He has no equal. He is eternally bigger than every created problem and many times, the speed of life takes us away from focusing on this truth. So I find listening to worship, even just 1 song all day to be something that shifts my thoughts, my meditation and my confession towards God and His will for my life. It is a signature for me to listen to a single song for days on end when I find it is ministering to me peace and wholeness. I find when I worship, my heart finds rest because it is reminded that my life, my days and all my seasons are in the hands of a God who cares for me eternally.
Remind Yourself What God Has Promised
This is different from reading the bible. Here, I am talking about what God has said to you personally. What has he promised in dreams? In what people have said to you prophetically? In verses that He has shown you? What has he done before even?
I have a small journal, pictured here that I keep a record of the different times God has spoken to me in the seasons of life. It is small probably because I do not write in it enough. But I find many times that opening it up and just reading the different conversations God has had with me is uplifting. It reminds me of when God has been faithful when I least expected it. It reminds me of when I was worried, and He have a word and months or weeks later, I saw that very word come to pass. It reminds me of what He has promised to do for me, through me and for my nation.
This journal is my modern day Numbers 15:38. My personal reminder that to me, as an individual God has been and will be good. And That I am alive to look upon His goodness, therefore, I need not be afraid.
Pray
I have written this last, but it is by no means the least. In many places in the Bible, the bible calls us the church a house of prayer. We are instructed to pray without ceasing. And there is a reason for this.
When we pray, we acknowledge we are not the be-all and end-all of our lives. We acknowledge the limits of our humanity and invite the grace and power of the Eternal Father into our lives. When we pray, we share our burdens with Him and they stop being our own. They become His. And as we are told in Philippians 4:6-9, the peace of God will come in and guard our hearts.
One thing that has helped me is remembering that the bible actually says “Cast your cares upon him”. The same used when it talks about getting devils out of people is the same word used when talking about cares. This tells me that cares and worries do not voluntarily leave me; nor is it necessarily the easiest thing.
It takes the authority of Jesus to cast out a devil; similarly I must expect my environment and my nature to offer resistance to living a life of rest. It is counter-intuitive in this world to live life without being worried about the future. The needs we have for food on the table, fuel, housing and godly relationships are real needs that must be met. And the environment tells us that worrying is the responsible thing to do because it allows yo to plan. Jesus asked us to look at the sparrows and the lilies of the field for a reason. It will take a conscious decision on my part to after praying, leave the cares in God’s hands. A decision that only you and I can make for ourselves. What knowing this has done for me is it allowed me to prepare and to know that it will take practice to be better at leaving my cares in His hands, but that is practice I cannot afford to miss.
Conclusion
In concluding for today, I hope you are blessed and will be able to glean wisdom that will help you to live a life of rest and trust in God. I hope you are blessed and equipped to be able to live your best life today.
Selah