Tag Archives: rest

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Our Union with Christ

Lord, You’re Going to Have to do this. I Can’t. (Republished January 2023).

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My father was at a low point in his life. He’d lost his marriage, his home, and his ability to live a normal life. He was imprisoned by alcoholism. I tried to comfort him, but my words didn’t help.

But one day, I read Jesus’ words to him, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.”[1]

I read the rest of the chapter and explained to Dad that Jesus wanted to give him the rest from this great burden. He began to cry. The philosophies of his college had led Dad to doubt God’s existence. But Jesus’ words opened up the eyes of his heart. Eventually, Dad entrusted his life to Christ.

But Dad still struggled. There was a gap between his reality and the deliverance he longed for.  He tried dozens of alcoholics anonymous meetings and was in and out of rehab centers. Nothing worked.

All along he’d been asking God to help him quit, but it wasn’t working. One day he came to the end of himself and cried, “God. I’ve tried everything I know. This isn’t working. I can’t do this. You’re going to have to do it.”

A bit later, after cutting the grass, he opened a beer and took a sip. It tasted horrible. He poured it out and never had another drop to drink the last fifteen years of his life.

Dad modeled for me a very powerful truth. Christ Himself is our life.

Jesus said. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”[2]

Paul said it this way, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”[3]

We were never designed to live life apart from God. Christ was pierced through for our transgressions[4] in order that He might share His life with us. By God’s doing, we’ve been placed in Christ[5] and seated with Him in heavenly places.[6] We’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit.[7]

As children of God, we’re new creations. [8] We’re united with Christ. God’s purpose is to transform us into the image of His Son. [9] But His way is not for us to try harder to improve ourselves. God never intended to make a better version of us. We died and our lives are now hidden in Christ. Christ now is our life. [10]

Anything which causes us to realize we can’t and God can, especially the unthinkable tragedy, has the possibility to draw us deeper into our true Life Source. It comes with humility and utter dependence.

Perhaps in our situations we need to say along my dad,  “God. I’ve tried everything I know. This isn’t working. I can’t do this. You’re going to have to do it.”

Thanks Dad. I miss you.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NASB)

[1] Matthew 11:28 NASB

[2] John 15:5

[3] Philippians 2:13

[4] Isaiah 53:5

[5] I Corinthians 1:30

[6] Ephesians 2:6

[7] Ephesians 1:13

[8] II Corinthians 5:17

[9] Romans 8:29

[10] Colossians 3:3-4

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures. Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Beyond Time

Hope Remains

Prince of Peace

Stop Searching for Peace

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Our Need for Peace

Inner peace. Own it and you’ll be tranquil, though the world crumbles around you. Without it, nothing you gain will give you contentment.

Peace is defined as freedom from disturbance; serenity, quite, mental calmness and tranquility.

As humans, we need peace and we’ll take all manner of paths searching for it.

Fear Threatens Our Peace

When deadlines looms and stress builds, we fear failure.

When relationships are strained, we fear being unloved.

When we fail, we fear being rejected.

When life gets hard, we fear the pain of our trials.

When debt mounts, we fear insecurity.

When illness strikes, we fear death.

And the list of fears goes on. Fear threatens our peace.

Not as the World Gives It

On the night before He was crucified, Jesus said to His disciples,

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives it do I give to you; Let not your heart be troubled, not let it be fearful.” John 14:27 (NASB)

The world was never supposed to be our source of peace. Jesus is our peace, the peace of His Holy Spirit, which indwells us.

Jesus wants us to give up trying to find and maintain our own peace.

This is extremely freeing, but very hard to do because we’ve been in charge of our own peace our whole lives. Consider how much of our lives have been spent trying to keep our hearts from feeling disturbed and troubled?

Imagine not being responsible for your own peace any more.

Jesus commands us is to not be fearful and to not let our hearts be troubled. He gives us His peace. So, we can rest in Him.

Prince of Peace

Centuries before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah foretold his coming:

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 (NASB)

 Among other titles, Jesus is called our Prince of Peace, but what does this mean?

From the Hebrew words used:

Prince – ruler, leader, chief, captain

Peace – completeness, soundness, welfare, tranquility, contentment

Jesus rules our peace. If we let Him.

We’ve been wearing ourselves out seeking peace, when our only job is to choose Jesus in the midst of every fear.

What a relief!

Prayer

Lord, thank you that You are my peace. You tell me not to have a troubled heart and to not be fearful. This is Your command. I choose You as the Captain of my Peace. I choose You as my Peace. Please guide me, when life’s adventures threaten to steal my peace. In Your strength, help me to choose You over fear. Help me to rest in You as my Peace and to not let my heart be troubled.

Loved by God

Loving Others is More than Just a Nice Command

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A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35

All of Scripture can be summed up in Jesus’ new command to love others as He’s loved us. But He’s Lord. We’re not. How can this quality of love be our norm, especially in the midst of life’s ups and downs? When life gets tough, loving others isn’t always our top priority. Yet, as we’ll see, loving others as He’s loved us is the key to our own fulfillment and Joy.

We Love Because He First Loved Us

We love because He first loved us. I John 4:19

Us loving  others has to start with God’s love for us. He is the source of all love. Human love is impure and self serving. We’re to be branches, yielding the fruit of love from Jesus, our vine.

But when the fact of God’s amazing love is hidden from us, we operate on our own, seeking love from others as we love.

What Quality of Love

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! I John 3:1

We’ll never fully grasp the enormity of God’s love for us, but the more we hear the truth and seek His understanding, the more our heart begins to grasp it’s enormity.

Jesus tells us He loves us as much as the Father loves Him (John 15:9)

Paul says God’s love for us and His supernatural power at work within us, is beyond  comprehension. (Ephesians 3:19)

God’s love is completely unselfish. Jesus demonstrated it when he washed the feet of men who would deny and betray Him, Peter and Judas. Then hours later, he died for us all,  His enemies.

Use your imagination a moment to consider this quality of God’s love for you. By faith, recon it true. Against all which would say otherwise, rest in His love. Shame has been destroyed. Striving has ceased. You’re in Christ and He’s in you. Rest.

From His Love, We love

Have you ever tried to love in your own strength? I have. It didn’t turn out well. Human love expects something in return. When we love without knowing God’s love, our love is self serving. But even if we experienced the greatest human love, we’d be left us incomplete and wanting. Only the  love of God completes us.

Christ did the work and in His love we’re to remain. Ours is not to strive, but to abide.

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.  If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.  John 15:9-12

Jesus tells us how much he loves and commands us to remain  in His endless, relentless love. And the way we stay in His love is by loving others.

From His Love Springs Complete Joy

The great cadence of receiving God’s love and giving it away keeps us in the love of Christ and gives us great joy.

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11

Loving as Jesus has loved us, keeps us from needing anything from the world. We’re freed from circumstances,  success, the opinion of others and worldly peace. Loving others as Jesus loves us, completes our hearts and fills us to the brim and overflowing with God’s joy. Nothing remains for us to do but rejoice.

Why Knowing God’s love and Giving it Away is Harder than it Seems

Stay in God’s love. Love others sacrificially as we yield to His Indwelling Spirit. Rest in the complete joy of His presence and love.

It sounds easy, but we all know it’s not. That’s because our enemy knows he’s completely ineffective when we’re resting in Father God’s love. Keeping us from knowing God’s love is his primary goal.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, II Corinthians 10:3-5 

Our enemy specializes in raising speculations and lofty things to block us from the knowledge of God’s love. He deceives us into doubting God’s love and settling for the world’s “love” to try and satisfy our deep longings.

But remember this. When we call upon Him, God will fight for us and free us from the enemy’s lies.

Know therefore today that the Lord your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire.  Deuteronomy 9:3a

Prayer

Lord, I thank you for your incredible love for me. I thank you that you go before me, destroying all that would hide your love from me. I’m learning to rest in your love and it’s the sweetest place on earth. Please keep me from moving from your love. Help me to wait upon you as you go before me, destroying all speculations and lofty things which would hide your love from me.

Thank you

Home Remains – latest novel by the author

God is our Reward, The Goodness of God

What is Good?

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I’m on our back porch enjoying the breeze of a chilly spring morning. The flowers are blooming, the trees are just beginning to bud and the grass is greening. I’m soaking in the spender of “now”.  A few birds visit our feeder suspended above the wooded path to our barn. A steady flow of cascading water from our fountain forms the background rhythm for their melodious songs.

I rest in the goodness of God. When I’m present with Him, the troubles of my life are out of view. Because He’s good, I’m good.

However, when I remember my present difficulties, if I’m not careful, they can suck the good right out of me.

Psalm 73 tells a story of a man  who’s dealing with a crisis of belief. Things are not going well and he really doesn’t know what to do.

When the Psalm opens up, Asaph is in a bad way. He doesn’t like his circumstances. He’s come close to stumbling and almost slips. He feels as if he’s wasted his time keeping his heart pure. He feels stricken all day long and chastened every morning.

To add to his unrest, envy has crept in. He sees wicked people who are prideful and arrogant, yet they seem to be doing fine.  They’re not in trouble or plagued. They prosper and are even fat, which was considered a good thing back then.

Asaph feels embittered and pierced within, yet he makes a wise choice. He brings his situation honestly before God.

This is the key to what happens next. No matter what our state, no matter how badly we’ve screwed up, no matter how angry we are at God, we should follow Asaph’s example and enter God’s sanctuary.

God is always ready to hear where we are and  the honest condition of our hearts. He can handle whatever we want to dish out. The worse thing we can do is shy away from Him because of shame, guilt or disappointment.

As Asaph  talks to God, his heart begins to shift. Though his feelings haven’t changed, he sees the end of those who don’t follow God.  “Then I perceived their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.” Psalm 73:17b-18

Then in verse 23, a dramatic turn occurs. Talking to God he says, “Nevertheless,  I am continually with You. You have taken hold of my right hand and with Your council will guide me, and afterwards receive me to glory.”

Whatever pit we find ourselves in right this moment. Whatever evidence we see around us that life is not good, we can repeat the above words in sincerity to God, releasing our lives into His care.

Nevertheless, no matter what, God, you are with me. It is You who have taken the initiative to reach out and take my hand and lead me. It is You who guides me along the way until You receive me into Your glory.

How reassuring! This truth can completely change our perspective. It did for Aspah. See what he wrote next:

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And beside you I desire nothing on earth.”[1]

By bringing his concerns to God, even his complaints, God performed a 180 degree shift in Asaph’s heart.

Let’s recognize, as he did, that goodness is not in how our lives are going. Goodness is in God’s nearness. God is always with us and He is always good, no matter what goes on in our lives.

Asaph ended his Psalm with words which have become a truth I build my life around.

 “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good.” Psalm 73:28a

Challenge: What circumstance threatens your sense of well-being? In other words, what has to be right in your life for you to be okay? It can be very good things, a good marriage, prospering children, successful career, etc. All these “goods” can never replace the fact that we are good because our God is good. Place the Lord of your life above all of things. He is worthy. He is trustworthy. He is good.

[1] Psalm 73:25

Guiding Hand

Turning Weariness into Rest and Joy

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Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Mathew 11:28)

 Have you ever noticed how the same workload can seem easy one day and insurmountably overwhelming the next?

A few days ago, work seemed effortless, as I cruised along in the Rivers of Living Water, experiencing the joy of the Lord’s nearness.

However, only a day later, I  trudged through a dry dusty riverbed, pulling an overloaded donkey cart of work. Everything was difficult, stress mounted, people faded from focus.

I sit wondering what happened, Why the drastic change?

Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28 come to mind: Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Weary and heavy-laden, fatigued and over-burdened. That’s how I feel. But the work load hasn’t changed. Why has my heart shifted from delight to drudgery?

I pore over the words again, stopping at the first phrase.

Come to Me.

But I’m already with you, I thought. You’re in me and I’m in You.[1] [2]  You hold the universe together.[3] How can I be any closer to you than I already am?

I pull up my Strongs concordance app and dig into the word – “Come”

In the original Greek the word  “come” means “come hither” or “come this way”.

Jesus is always with me, but He’s asking me for a deeper “withness”.

I think of being with people in an elevator. They are with me, but unless we engage, there’s no connection.

One of my earliest memories comes to mind. I remember being woken up and seeing someone enter the room through the bars of a crib. I’m not sure who the person was, probably my mother, but they picked me up and took care of me.

Next I remember a little later being led by the hand by my great grandmother,  whom I called”Mommie,”  We were walking very slowly around a small a body of water.

I don’t know how I know it was Mommie, but I do. We must have been at my grandparent’s place in Pompano Beach, Florida. And it must have been the garden pool in the midst of their nursery she was leading me around. I was so small, so dependent on her guiding hand.

I was a mere toddler, but to this day I feel the love of those moments. Mommie led me with such tender care.

As I think back to that event in light of my current situation, clarity emerges.  

Mommie was not giving me directions from far away, expecting me to walk on my own. Her soft hand, firmly embracing my little fingers, communicated, “walk this way child. I’ll guide you and show you where to go. And I’ll support your feeble legs every step of the way.”

Wow. I’d let go of the Lord’s hand. I’d lost the joy of His presence. I’d begun to look at work as just work, instead of the adventure He wanted us to have together.

“I’m sorry, Lord,” I confess.

I feel no condemnation, no displeasure, just an invitation.

I lift my hand and hear Him say, “Come this way.”

Rest – take ease, refresh, refrain, come to an end.

[1] Galatians 2:20

[2] Ephesians 2:4-6

[3] Colossians 1:17

Joy

Don’t Postpone Joy

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Martha had enough. Her sister Mary did it again, left her to do all the work while she just sat there. Martha was distracted by all the preparations. And though the very source of Joy was with her, she was focused on what she had to do.

Sound familiar?

“But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42

But how can life really be about one thing? Without Martha, no food would have been served.

On a slow morning, sitting on a dock facing the intracoastal waterway in Wilmington, NC, I’m once again pondering how to be a Mary without neglecting my responsibilities.

The mid-morning sun warms the steady breeze as it massages my face. I look across the gray blue waterway and see white caps ushering the tide to my right. The rhythmic waves lap upon the shore only interrupted by the rubbing of the floating docks along the pile driven wooden poles, the squawking of sea birds and the distant sound of a dog’s bark.

I have sought my own answers to this quandary for years, but this morning it all seems clear. No profound answers are given, only His strong hand outstretched; inviting me to give Him my concerns, so I can be with Him. Together, He will show me how to live a Mary life in a Martha world.

My cares are safely sealed, waiting for His commands to be revealed.

Two light yellow butterflies dart across the rolling tide. Above the water flow, there is a lime green strip of land below a line of emerald trees, couching white, multi-storied buildings in the distance. Above the tree line, a cloudless sky rises in deeper shades of pastel blue towards the heavens.

Wow! This is joy, this trusting, this resting, this enjoying His presence. Is this abiding? Is this what Jesus means when He tells me to remain in His love?

So, what now? I could regret millions of distracted moments in my past when I labored without a thought of His nearness.

But I won’t.

I will go forth with a deeper understanding of what Jesus means when he tells me not to worry, but to seek His business, His Kingdom, His supremacy in my life.

All that other stuff, the things I seem to focus on, what I’ll eat and what I’ll wear and what I’ll drink – He’s got that. He and I  have more important things to do, like enjoying this moment together.

And by the way, when I am doing that (Enjoying moments of life with Him) I will naturally love the people I meet along the way. When, like Mary, I’m in tune with my Lord’s nearness, when I’m yielding to His Indwelling Spirit, His love flows through me to others. My number one concern now is to love others as He has loved me. This  starts with resting in His love.

Jesus said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”

“Love is the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others.” John Piper

In His Presence is fullness of Joy (Psalm 16:11)

God is our Life, God is our Strength

Resting at Work

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Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (Mathew 11:28)

 True rest can happen even in the midst of work.

Have you ever noticed that the same workload can seem easy one day and insurmountably overwhelming the next? A few days ago, work seemed effortless, as I cruised along in the Rivers of Living Water, experiencing the joy of the Lord’s nearness. However, only a day later, I  trudged through a dry dusty riverbed, pulling an overloaded donkey cart of work.

What happened?

As is my plan, when I noticed the shift in my heart, I reached for the  truth of God’s word. This time I turned to  Matthew 11:28. As I read, I knew the Lord was talking to me. I felt weary and heavy-laden, fatigued and over-burdened.

Come to Me, I read

But I’m already with you, I thought. You’re in me and I’m in You.[1] [2]  You hold the universe together.[3] There must be more to it.

Digging in, I discovered that the Greek word for “come” means “come hither” or “come this way”.

Jesus is always with me, but here He is asking me for a deeper “withness”. I thought of being with people in an elevator. They are with me, but unless we engage, there’s no connection.

Conversely, one of my earliest memories was  walking with my great grandmother. She held my hand and  guided me around a swimming pool. Being with her was not an option. I would have been in danger without her.

This is the level of “withness” Jesus is asking of me. When I comply, the rest comes. In my backward thinking,  rest only  comes when all the work is done. Which is never, because there’s always something else to do.

The rest Jesus is offering happens even in the midst of  work, a byproduct of  heeding His call to “come this way”.

Rest – take ease, refresh, refrain, come to an end.  My striving, my focus on work, needs to end.

My dutiful, weary day happened not because of the amount of work, but because work had become my focus. I knew Christ is my life, but I was living as if work was my life.

Being with Jesus is rest. Taking His yoke upon me is literally giving Him my burdens. In His yoke, my burden becomes His. The weightiest task feels light when I’m following Him. “For My yoke is easy and My load is light.” (Matthew 28:30)

Lord, I’m sorry I became so focused on work. You are my Life. Please keep me ever aware of your nearness and strength that I might continually be attentive to your leading.

Challenge: Is there an area of your life where you feel weary and over-burdened? If so, lean in close to Jesus so that He can say ‘come this way.’ His way will be light and powerfully effective. Handling the burdens on your own is not only wearisome, but completely ineffective.

 

[1] Galatians 2:20

[2] Ephesians 2:4-6

[3] Colossians 1:17

Love

Remain in My Love

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“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (John 15:9)

I feel it happening again – the temptation to take charge and handle the challenge myself. I try to trust God, but it seems to be ‘all up to me’; a familiar lie. The internal pressure is mounting. I’m compelled to think I must uphold and maintain God’s love for me and the infusion of His strength. I feel the vulnerability of moving out from under the wings of His love into independent striving for achievement and approval.

Knowing I need truth, I turn to John 15. Here, Christ repeatedly tells me to abide in him and in his love. But how?

Digging into the word abide, I learn it also means to tarry, to dwell, be present with, to remain. I’m to remain in God’s Love. Jesus tells me that He loves me just as much as His Father loves Him. I want to believe this, but I struggle.

Remain. To remain somewhere means I have to be there to begin with. If I’m told to remain in a house, I have to already be in the house to stay there. I remember I Corinthians 1:30 where Paul says that because of God, I’m in Christ Jesus. He also says that it is by grace I have been saved, through faith; not a matter of my own works.[1]

It is Finished

God put me in Christ Jesus, not my own striving or achieving. When Christ said, “It is finished” on the cross, he finished all work needed to earn God’s pleasure. I don’t have to do a thing to be in his love. By believing, I’m already in the dwelling of Christ’s love. I’m to stay where God has put me.

This is extremely freeing.

Remain in Christ’s love. Don’t move.

Back in John 15, I read I’m like a branch of grapes. Connected to the vine, my source, God grows delicious fruit for others to enjoy. When He produces the fruit and others benefit, He gets the glory and I’m filled with His joy. It’s the only way it can work. A branch detached from the vine can yield nothing.

So, what is my work? After all, Jesus commands me to abide. My work is to stay where God has placed me, in the love of Christ. I’m to rest and yield to His life in me, fighting every lie with the truth of His amazing love.

Lord, I’m guilty of doubting your love, of thinking I have to achieve something for you to be pleased with me. Now I see how absurd this really is. Not only are my independent efforts worth nothing, but they produce the plastic fruits of self-glory.  I’m so sorry. Please keep me ever aware of your great love for me. Teach me how to remain where you have put me, in your surpassing love.  Amen. 

 

[1] Ephesians 2:8-9