Oh Lord, help me to let go…to cease striving and learn to enter into Your REST.
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 46:10)
Listening to the right kind of music can soothe the soul. One of my favorite albums is Resting Place by David Hamilton. It’s an instrumental rendition of 12 hymns for reflection and meditation. The artist dedicates the album to his friend and mentor with these words:
“Thank you…for always challenging me to remain focused on what is most important. In the quiet moments, may this music be a helpful reminder of the comforting words of Scripture: ‘Be still and know that I AM God’.”
His inspired piano performance of beautiful hymns like Near to the Heart of God, Breathe on Me Breath of God, Were It Not for Grace, Turn Your Eyes on Jesus and My Faith Has Found a Resting Place, invite you to stop, relax and come into the Presence of God to REST.
Be Still
In this fast-paced and hectic world, it’s hard to cease striving, relax and let go; yet this is what we are called to do if we desire to enter into God’s REST. The first two words of Psalm 46:10 are “Be still”. Further study of the word in the original language suggests a command to do ALL of the following.
- Stop your striving
- Slow down
- Be quiet
- Relax; withdraw
God is speaking here. He is telling us to stop, drop whatever we are doing and thinking or worrying over and come to Him. It’s interesting that when we stop our activities and turn our attention and focus to God, we begin to see what really matters.
You see, all the activity and fretting puts the attention and focus on self and circumstances, causing us to fret and struggle as we try to make life work in our own strength by trying harder and ever harder, pulling out all the stops and making every effort to the point of exhaustion. This is not REST.
Know That I AM God
You must have some kind of relationship with a person to truly know him or her. The same is true of God. To know God you must first become acquainted with Him and establish a relationship. To do this you must:
- Recognize Who He is.
- Believe in Him…that He will keep His promises.
- Discover as much as you can about Him—His likes and dislikes.
- Understand His Character.
- Learn how He operates and His way of doing things.
- Accept what He has to offer.
- Follow His instructions and obey His commands.
- Honor and exalt Him through praise and worship; so that everyone you come in contact with will know that He is God.
In the opening verse of Psalm 46, God declares that He is our REST (refuge and strength) and always ready to help in time of trouble (unrest). The One True and Living God is REST. His strength overpowers our enemies—even the small ones like worry and anxiety which do not appear to be enemies. He desires that we REST, and this REST is found in Him. If we want it, we’ve got to come to Him and establish a relationship.
The only way that this can happen is by accepting Jesus Christ, His Son as Savior and Lord, based on the atoning work He did on the cross. Scripture tell us that Christ is the Way, Truth and Life; no one can come to God, the Father except through Jesus Christ, the Son (John 14:6).
Do you really want REST? Are you tired of struggling? Have you come to the end of your resources and don’t know what to do? Then, ask God to give you REST.
