Lord, thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee. Saint Augustine

I am learning (slowly and clumsily) real soul rest in God. Rest – by grace through faith putting expectations and doubts and desires into His hands. Rest – connecting to Jesus as my source of joy, peace, and contentment in the mundane and mighty. Then, there are ways I think my soul is resting when it actually isn’t, so I flesh those out here.

Resting in God is not mustering up right answers we think we need.

Resting in God is not copying someone else’s personality or passions because they seem “better.”

Resting in God is not striving for acceptance from the world. 

Resting in God is not keeping busy to escape the loneliness, insecurity, or fear.

Resting in God is not fighting for a position of worthiness.

Resting in God is not anxiously living to be everything for everybody.

Resting in God is not working to constantly prove ourselves.

Resting in God is not tackling life alone.

Resting in God is not blindly walking through the day restless or overwhelmed.

The Christian life is a life of day-by-day, hour-by-hour trust in the promises of God to help us and guide us and take care of us and forgive us and bring us into a future of holiness and joy that will satisfy our hearts infinitely more than if we forsake him and put our trust in ourselves or in the promises of this world. And that day-by-day, hour-by-hour trust in God’s promises is not automatic. It is the result of daily diligence and it’s the result of proper fear (and awe of God). John Piper, italics added by me

To rest in God is to embrace His unfailing love for you.

To rest in God is to believe His words about you.

To rest in God is to trust that when life seems uncertain, it’s steady in His hands.

To rest in God is to find joy in His presence in the mundane and the mighty.

To rest in God is to know genuine peace in times of stress and worry.

To rest in God is to be upheld by His sufficient grace and power.

To rest in God is to position yourself beloved in His family.

To rest in God is to choose confidence in Him over the weakness in yourself.

To rest in God is to experience His fullness.

To rest in God is to cultivate listening ears to His voice.

To rest in God is to worship Him wholeheartedly, and be inspired.

To rest in God is to fear Him and live in awe of Him.

As we seek to be the church in this world, let us not seek to pursue abiding satisfaction and spiritual purpose by gazing inward or by probing the cauldron of mixed motives and fickle emotions that lie within the recesses of our hearts. Instead, let us simply remember what our hearts were created and redeemed for: to look outward in faith and to rest in the finished work of the One who loved us and gave Himself for us (Gal. 2:20). Scott Anderson

What does it mean for you to rest your soul in God?

 

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We leave for Utah in a week!

(Photo of Bryce Canyon by Laura Agustí on Unsplash)