Burke County

There is a Sabbath rest for the people of God; it is a promise. Yet our lives seem almost out of control on most days. We vacillate between anxiety and apathy. Some days, we are ready to blow a gasket because of the chaos in our homes, our workplaces, and even our churches. Other days, we just don’t care anymore about what happens. Is this really the abundant life that Jesus promised? What are we missing??

2 Timothy 3:1 says that in the last days, perilous times will come. We are in the last days, and perilous times are here. How then can we appropriate the promise of a Sabbath rest?

The two ingredients that are necessary for appropriating rest from this world’s turmoil and strife are waiting and trusting.

Waiting

We hate to wait, but it is God’s prerogative to often place us in holding patterns. First, He brings a conflict. It could be a relationship issue, a health crisis, or a seemingly hopeless situation. Then He waits for our response. He waits to be gracious to us. Generally, by now, we are scurrying around like mice attempting to either fix our own problems or find someone else who can. We pray, but we don’t wait. We ignore David’s advice in Psalm 37:7-11: “Be still in the presence of the Lord; wait patiently for Him to act”. Next, things usually go from bad to worse. Our head hurts, and our stomach is in knots. Our peace is non-existent, and our attitude is at an all-time low. Bitterness seeps into our souls and passes over our lips. Manipulation becomes our preferred method for coping. We have moved slowly but surely away from our only true source of rest. We must humble ourselves under the mighty Hand of God and wait for Him to speak.

Waiting is the time for the washing of the Word.

Open the word of God and allow it to wash the waste of this world from your feet and clear its clutter from your mind. Clean hands and a pure heart of faith are non-negotiable. This is the appropriate time for washing, cleansing, and purifying, the necessary first steps on the journey to a perpetual Sabbath rest.

When a potter is working with a piece of clay, he places it on the wheel and begins to shape it into the vessel he has envisioned. When we willingly place ourselves on the heavenly Potter’s wheel, He will begin to reshape our thinking, renew our minds, and restore our spirits. As He works, He adds the water of the word, little by little, until the vessel is formed that He has envisioned. He then places the vessel in the kiln, firing it until it is transformed into one of beauty and purpose. We are now strengthened for greater ministry opportunities, but we must wait in FAITH until God’s cleansing is complete. We will never enter the Sabbath rest of God until we actively wait in His presence and submit to the cleansing power of His Word. Waiting has a twin; it is called trusting. They always work in tandem.

Trusting

Once the water of the Word has washed and cleansed, there must be a time of soaking in His promises, in His Sovereignty. Soaking softens, refreshes, and relaxes, but, more importantly, it allows God’s truth to be absorbed into every cell of our being. Drench your mind with scriptures unique to each situation you are facing. Nourish every neuron in your brain with rhema words. Reject anything that raises itself against truth.

2 Corinthians 10:5 “We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”.

We are embracing and receiving every promise in the word of God for ‘as many as are the promises of God, in Him (Christ) they are yes’.

The devil’s goal is to steal our faith. He doesn’t care about anything except bringing us to the precipice of unbelief so that we will fall for his ultimate lie. What is that lie? God is not good and He is not loving. Otherwise, He would not have allowed us to experience such difficult times. He would do something about the injustice and evil permeating our society. He would restore our marriages, heal our bodies, deliver our children, etc. etc. etc., and He would do it NOW! When we default to the flesh, it seems that Satan’s words are true. Yet, Jesus readily admits in John 16:33, ‘In this world, you will have trouble. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Trouble is a promise; Rest is a promise; Hardship is a promise; peace is a promise; suffering is a promise; joy is a promise. Again, we wonder, ‘In the face of all the evil, negativity, and confusion, how can we appropriate God’s promise of an abiding Sabbath rest?

Waiting and trusting equals rest.

Waiting as His Word washes the world’s waste from our feet.

Trusting every promise in His Word and soaking in His Sovereignty.

We are now ready to enter the Promised Land of God’s Sabbath rest.

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Caron is a follower of Jesus Christ and a member of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Morganton, NC. She loves to teach the word of God.

Her desire is to see every believer grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

You can read more Christian News from Caron HERE.

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