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Day Four
True Rest
Scripture: 1 Kings 19:11–12; Isaiah 30:15
I was in my early thirties. God and I had been walking together for a good while. I had two small children, my business was rolling full force, and life was active—to say the least.
With a blank piece of paper in front of me, I silently asked the Lord to speak to me. I immediately began swirling my pen around into a tornado. I will never forget the next thing I heard resound in my spirit. It would become the beginning of my REST revolution. It was an impression on my spirit, not actual words that I heard the Holy Spirit speaking. If I were to transcribe this impression into words, this is what it would say:
Your belief system of work and REST is inaccurate: You believe, “When this is over, I’ll be able to take a break and REST.” Have you noticed that when one storm is over, another one is starting? Each storm has a center where everything is perfectly still. I want you to find it. I will meet you there.
“You’re right, God. Life never really lets up.”
I imagined myself in the center of a tornado. Debris and chaos flew all around me with violent force, but I wasn’t moving. I was anchored in stillness. Then I reached out with one hand to touch the movement, and it grabbed all of me and yanked me around with unforgiving speed. This picture showed me that I could be in the storm but not a part of the storm. I could be smack dab in the center of my life, engaged and present, but not a victim of its bullying nature.
God wasn’t going to remove the chaos. He was calling me into the center, into stillness. He was telling me that in “quietness and trust” was my strength (Isaiah 30:15).
I used to think rest and stillness were synonymous with a lack of busyness. The image of the tornado gave me a new paradigm. God was saying that I could be still and experience rest right in the middle of the chaos. I was delaying rest when it was right in front of me.
What do you think of when you think of rest? How is that image different from the idea of resting in the middle of the chaos?
Scripture
About this Plan
When you hear the word "rest", do you think of vacationing on a beach, curling up with a good book, or maybe napping? Those are all forms of rest, but this week we’re going to look at an entirely different dimension of rest—one that is available to you today, whatever your circumstances. If you are feeling fearful or overly busy, come find a place of rest right where you are.
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