How to Overcome: Finding Rest in God

Why is it so hard for our world to relax and be at peace? I don’t know about you, but I know it is hard for me. Recently this is something I have been struggling with. My mind has been going a hundred miles and minute and I concern myself with things that are not even worth worrying a second over.

Graduation can be a very unsettling time for people. It is extremely exciting, but also scary. I feel like thus far, my whole life has been pretty much planned out. I went to elementary school and high school, then I went to college. College was a little scary at first, but soon I was able to get into a routine and always knew that I had at least four more years of a ‘planned out’ life ahead. But after that, everything is up in the air. We all have to go our seperate ways and figure out what to do with the rest of our lives. There are no more “requirements” that we must fulfill and no itinerary that we need to follow. It is up to us. We call the shots. That can be a scary thing after having the shots called for us for so long.

Luckily, as Christians, we have God to direct us where He wants us to go. I know without a doubt that I have heard God speak to me what He wants me to do when I graduate, and therefore I am going to wait on His timing and allow Him to work in my life however He wants. So, I shouldn’t worry, right? Right. Easier said than done, however. If only we could just believe what we know to be true without doubting, life would be so much more simple.

James 1:6 says: “”But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” Although it is often times so much easier to doubt than to just believe, we cannot let ourselves go there. We need to believe. Doubting is sin. And not only is it unpleasing to God, but it can really ruin us. All the fear and the worry and the anxiety comes from our inability to believe God loves us. If we fully believed He did, we would not worry for a second. We would know that He ”causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him” (Romans 8: 28).  The opposite of belief is doubt, and the opposite of faith is fear. When you get down to it, doubt and fear are the reasons why we cannot find rest in God.

So, what is causing you to not be able to rest in God? What are you worried and anxious about? No matter what it is, know that everything is going to be great. God loves you. He loves you so much and thinks about you all the time. He is watching over you every second of the day and knows your whereabouts at all times. He knows your future. He knows how everything is going to work out. And He has a plan for you. Before you were even created, He had a perfect plan for your life. Why, then, should you worry?

The bible commands us to rest in the Lord. Here are a few encouraging passages in the bible about the subject.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:25-27)

“Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.” (Psalm 55:22)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

One thing that we need to learn is that we will never find complete rest or peace apart from God. If you try finding it in friends, or family, or whatever it may be, it will not work. The only way that we can find peace and rest is when we find it in the Lord. John 14:27 says: ” Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid”. The peace that Jesus is talking about here is not a ‘natural’ type of peace. It is the peace of knowing that we have a place in Heaven and that God loves us. When we can believe that God loves us, and not doubt, we will find tremendous rest. There is really nothing to worry about. If you have placed your life in God’s hands,  believe that He will come through for you. Believe that He will never dissapoint you. Have faith that He cares for you more than you could ever understand.

Life can be tough. We sometimes go through moments that are scary and uncertain, but it is in these moments that God’s power and provision can really shine forth. When we are at our weakest, He is at His strongest. I don’t know where you are at right now. I don’t know how you are feeling and if you are worried or hopeless. But I do no that no matter where you are, there is always an opportunity for a miracle. God is the God of the impossible. Nothing is impossible for Him. So no matter what you’re going through, just know that with Him, all things are possible and He can give you a miracle at any time. Just ask, without doubting, and it will happen. If it is in accordance with His will, anything can happen. He is not constrained like we are.

This weekend, or even right now, I exhort you to pray about what you are worried over. Ask God to give you peace and rest in this area. Pray that He would come through for you and that there would be a miracle. He can do it. Give Him that worry. Tell Him that you are trusting in Him and you are going to believe He will cause it all to work out. He loves you and He wants to come through for you, just let Him.

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