WILL YOU REST?
I have been encouraging you to learn to rest –
to not take on many responsibilities, but do one thing well.
I know you better than you know yourself.
Rest in Me.
Whatever I want you to do,
I will give you the strength to accomplish.
You are My beloved child – a daughter of My kingdom.
Do not worry!
Rest in Me and in My goodness.
Last week I read a book entitled “Anonymous” by Alicia Britt Chole which talked about the twenty-nine hidden years of Christ. The content of the book was awesome! One particular passage stood out: (paraphrase) “I slowly began to realize that Jesus’ enduring spiritual strength was gained through rest, not movement; through stillness, not activity, which gave Jesus the strength to stand, whatever the challenge.”
Many times, as I listened and wrote down what I felt God was saying to me, He encouraged me to rest. Yet our society seems to shout louder and louder for us to do more. I felt it was a cop-out to take a day off from the myriad tasks and responsibilities I had acquired. Yet, Jesus, as the Son of God, was willing to listen to His Father for twenty-nine years, to stay in the background, until God said He could leave the carpenter shop.
This month I ask for God’s help in learning to rest.
Rose Harmer
http://www.listeningtohear.wprdpress.com
listeningtohear 
Your poem and comments reminded me of the promise of rest that Jesus gave in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (ESV).
“I felt it was a cop-out to take a day off from the myriad tasks and responsibilities I had acquired.” Don’t feel that way, Rose. Even after he’d undertaken the ministry that God gave him to do, Jesus took time off from it. See, for example, Mark 1:35, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was yet dark, he departed and went to a desolate place, and there he prayed” (ESV). Surely that suggests that sometimes we should take a break from our tasks and responsibilities.
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Dear Bob,
Thank you and actually that is the verse I am blogging on next week. I’m meditating on what “His rest” for me means and it is refreshing. I appreciate your remarks. Rose
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This is particularly poignant for me as I and several of my dearest friends suffer from chronic illness which saps our strength. It’s really hard to allow myself to rest as much as my body seems to need. There is so much I want to do for Christ!
Lord, help me to believe in your Word and rest in it!
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Dear Carmen,
It’s a journey of listening to Him and obeying as He just wants our love. Rose
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I have been receiving this message of resting in Him of late…may we find that secure source of strength in resting in our good God!
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Thank you so very much. Yes, it does seem God has to tell me again and again to “rest in Him”. I appreciate your comment on receiving the same messages.
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