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Rest-less

Devotion

It's easy to say, "I trust you, Lord," and sing worship songs about trust. But what does it mean to trust Him wholeheartedly?

I'll tell you what it doesn't mean—it's 3:00 a.m., and I can't sleep.

We sold our home, and it has me feeling very unstable and insecure. I'm on a website called Zolo looking at pic after pic of houses—4 bedroom bungalows, three-bedroom back-splits, two-stories. Should we move west? Should we move north? What if I don't like it? What if we've made a mistake? These are the thoughts that kept me awake for many nights. I'm so anxious, and my spirit is restless. Restless.

Webster defines restless as,

(a) Not satisfied to be at rest or in peace; averse to repose or quiet; eager for change;

(b) Characterized by or showing an inability to remain at rest;

(c) Unquiet or uneasy, as a person, the mind, or the heart.

Yup, that sounds about how I've been feeling. Uneasy, eager for change, not satisfied, or not at rest. I felt compelled to keep searching. It felt like it was becoming an obsession.

After weeks of this agony and the mounting consequences, such as lack of sleep, and my neglect of other responsibilities, including my healthy eating boundaries, in a gentle, loving voice, I heard this in my spirit, "Do you trust me?" I responded with a resounding, "YES!"

"Then why are you restless? Trust me!"

Funny, until this time, I never made the connection. My inability to remain at rest was showing me a lack of trust in the Lord. I saw my restlessness as a natural desire to get things done. But in truth, it was only making me more restless and was impacting my ability to get anything done. That's the deceptive nature of striving and working in our strength. It's relentless. We can never be satisfied. In our power, we lack the gauge or shut-off valve to tell us when enough is enough, so our spirit always feels unsettled.

Since then, I'm learning to see my restlessness from an entirely different perspective. I now see it as my visible reaction to an invisible heart problem—my lack of trust in the Lord. Not being at rest tells me that I'm coming out of alignment with God, and I now see it as an opportunity to repent, stop, and listen to how the Lord is leading me.

When I'm feeling restless, it's because I'm trying to operate in my strength. But restlessness is relentless. It's an itch that always needs scratching, and that's why the Lord calls us to cast our cares on Him. He is the only one who can satisfy that itch and calm our restlessness. The Lord calls us to let go of our burdens and let him carry them (Matthew 11:28). He created us to be in partnership with Him in His infinite wisdom—where we both work, but He does the heavy lifting. He provides us with an easy yoke.

As long as we continue to work in our strength, we will always have to contend with feeling restless. We will continuously be in a state of restlessness.

This was the trap for the Pharisees as they tried to create their own rules and regulations. They were trying to mandate against their very restless nature by never resting in their battle against restlessness (Matthew 23:1-25).

And this was the trap for Martha. She focused on the wrong priorities that created restlessness and angst in her instead of resting at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:38-42).

But when we choose to trust in the Lord, we don't have to worry or feel restless.

TRUST EQUALS REST AND REST EQUALS TRUST

Lack of faith in the Lord always causes restlessness. And in a desperate attempt to push away the restlessness, we try to work harder! How ironic!—we work to find rest.

Meanwhile, Jesus is continually calling us to rest in Him and learn from Him.

When you trust, you will rest. Rest equals peace. Rest means quieting all our racing thoughts—our need to figure it out, our worries and concerns, and entrusting them all to the Lord.

In your journey, health, or otherwise, do you totally and completely trust God? Here is the test—your head may say, yes, but is your spirit able to rest?

As you go through this study, continue to go back to this truth. When you're feeling restless, see it as an opportunity to go inward and truly surrender your cares to the Lord. Stop the behavior you're engaging in and repent.

Relaxation Exercise

Make a list of all of the areas where you're feeling restless. With each thought or feeling, declare, "Less of me and more of you, Lord."

Reflect

1. Pay attention to what is causing you to feel restless. Identify the source of it.

2. What is the relationship between rest and trust? Explain it in your own words.

3. Why does Jesus continually call us to rest in Him?

Worship and Prayer

"Lord God, you are in control, so I don't have to worry. Thank you for inviting me to cast all my anxiety on you. Take it all, Lord, and give me your perfect peace. I trust you. Help me to be still and know that you are God. Change my mind, so I take on the mind of Christ. When I begin to head down what feels like a rabbit hole of thoughts, bring me back. Only you can see the entire picture, so I trust you. Your thoughts are so much higher, and your ways are so much higher than my ways, so I don't know why I ever think that I could figure things out without you. Please forgive me. I seek your peace, and I thank you for calming my anxious and restless spirit. In your name, I pray. Amen."