Anchored in the Storm - 5 Days to Handling the Storms of LifeSample

Rest in the Storm

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, Come to me all who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.

Rest means relief or freedom. Even in a storm, if you keep your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of your faith, there is where you will find rest.

During a difficult period in my life, I struggled to find peace and rest from God while dealing with the overwhelming grief of losing my mother and son within one month of each other. Despite sleeping 12 hours a day, I still felt restless, weary, and heavily burdened. My mind was constantly plagued with anxiety, fear, and worry, and I couldn’t find peace no matter how much I slept. My soul was weary.

The definition of weary means feeling or showing tiredness, especially due to excessive exertion.

One of the synonyms for the word weary is dead. When you think about the word dead, it can mean a natural or a spiritual death. The enemy takes advantage of your situation by draining you of time, vision, dreams, and desires to press into His presence, thus causing weariness. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. The more I slept, the more the enemy was stealing, killing, and destroying my life, and I lacked the time to rest in His presence.

Proper rest and peace come from spending time with God to experience life in its fullness, even in the midst of a storm. You can’t sleep all day and expect to receive rest in the presence of the Almighty God. Resting in God allows you to be renewed, revived, restored, and refreshed in His presence.

To obtain rest, dedicate time to reading the scriptures, listening to music that encourages or edifies the soul, journaling to clear your mind, taking a walk in the park, or simply sitting still and meditating on all He has done for you. While everyone expects you to break down, you’ve learned to be anchored in God and rest in the storm.

Say this prayer with me: Father, your word says to come to you all who are weary and heavily burdened, and you will give them rest. God, I’m tired and restless; I need you like never before. My mind is anxious, and the storms of life have beat me down. Come into my heart and take up residence here. I command the spirit of restlessness, worry, fear, and doubt to leave me now in the name of Jesus. Father, thank you for replenishing me and giving me rest for my weary soul. In Jesus name, Amen!