"Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you'll discover that I'm gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me." ~ Matthew 11:28-29 TPT
Rest.
In a world that glorifies productivity, we often leave no room for rest. But, rest is necessary for our health. Why do you think we sleep? Studies have compared 24-hours of no sleep to having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10. That is above the legal limit to drive in most states. That is why we need sleep. We need rest. Our bodies need rest.
So, if our bodies need rest, doesn't our spirit need rest as well? If we go through life without spending time with God, we are like a flower that has been pulled from its roots. Think about those flowers from the supermarket. They don't often last too long, and they die and wither after a couple of days. That's what we look like without God. We become weary and exhausted without Him, who is the supplier of our energy.
God wants us to come to Him for rest. We should be going to Him daily to be refilled; because if we don't, how are we supposed to pour out to others, how are we supposed to live the life God has called us to?
Even God rested. In Genesis 2:2 NLT, it says, "On the seventh day God had finished His work of creation, so he rested from all His work."
You often see, in the Gospels, Jesus pull away from crowds to spend time with His Father. He would step away to go and pray. Even Jesus needed rest, He who is God the Son and already has a perfect relationship with God the Father.
Yet, here we are, going days on end not even going to the Father once. If Jesus needed to spend time with the Father, if Jesus needed rest, if God needed rest, why don't we? Why don't we choose to go to the Father and just bow down before Him?
Selah.
"Stop and Listen."
We need to pause before God. Come to a place of rest before Him because what we produce comes out of a place of rest. He is the vine, we are the branches. How much fruit we produce depends on our connection with Him.
So, where do you find rest? Go to God today and just spend some time with Him. It doesn't have to be an hour long, but go to Him. Allow yourself to be filled and soaked in His presence. Find something that connects you to Him, something that brings you to the presence of God. Maybe it is music. Maybe it is looking at the beauty of the world around you. Maybe it is drawing or writing. Whatever it is, do it. Spend time with God. Go somewhere without any distractions and just Selah. Just pause before the Lord today.
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