Tag: Rest

Three ways to keep your peace…

Peace

Why is keeping your peace so important? What does it mean to keep your peace? What robs you from peace? These are a few questions we can explore and learn from. I began writing this yesterday morning and I have been thinking about how to keep our peace since then.

What is peace? According to the dictionary Peace is, “freedom from disturbance, tranquility 2) a state or period in which there is no war, or a war has ended.”

Looking at peace from ‘freedom from disturbance’ can be said keeping your peace is not allowing the disturbances to get within your mind and heart. Keeping your peace does not suggest that you just be quiet and never speak up. The first way in keeping your peace involves understanding how to live in a state of trusting in God and overcoming personal annoyances.

Trusting God is easier when we are not faced with personal annoyances or outcomes outside our control. Those are the circumstances that can cause us to lose our peace if we are not aware of it. I choose to speak the truth with the Word of God concerning situations. Find a scripture that you know and remind yourself of God’s care and concern for you. Speak it out loud so you can hear it this builds your faith as you go through the disturbances that try to rob your peace.

Tranquility means “the quality or state of being tranquil; calm.” Looking at peace as tranquility clearly is referring to being calm. Being calm under pressure is doable. The second way to keep your peace is submission to the God’s leading, He gives us the grace to handle all types of situations that we are faced with daily. Since we are submitted to Him, we are surrendering our aggravations to His word and ways. This helps us to learn how our reactions can be turned into responses. Once again God addresses issues and speaks up, but His ways are higher than ours He uses the right amount of pressure and directness.

The Hebrew word for peace is Shalom “this word means peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare, and tranquility.” This peace has a deeper depth to the understanding of peace. God’s peace permeates our well being and produces wholeness in spirit, soul and body. Our minds and hearts are connected if we do not have peace of mind, we will not have peace in other areas of our being. Understanding of the word shalom helps us to realize that God is interested in all areas of our lives. The third way to help keep your peace is, understanding that your total well being is important. One aspect of our being can affect other aspects of spirit, soul and body. Remembering this helps one to keep their peace. Sometimes we lose peace because our lives get out of balance. Recognize physically, mentally or emotionally these three areas will affect our lives when they are out of balance. If you’re running on empty, it will finally catch up to you and your peace will be lost. We only get one life and body, so it is important to take care of it.  

For example, when my ankles are painful, I do what is necessary to help relieve the pain such as rest, elevate, ice or put a pain cream on them. When I was younger, I would push myself and make it worse but through age wisdom has taught me to notice and deal with the symptoms. I have learned it’s ok to rest, give myself permission to not over do, and then I stay peaceful.

There are many ways we can lose our peace but if we become aware of them, we can rely on God’s grace, and overcome them, and keep our peace.    

Rest = Faith

What is rest and why is it equal to belief?

Romans 1:16-17 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17)For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, “the just shall live by faith.”

Hebrews 4:3 “For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘they shall not enter my rest” Hebrews 3:9 “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

How often do we attempt to do something in our own power to have it disappoint? Rest equals faith when we are surrendered to God by putting our faith in him the rest becomes twofold.

First, when you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God through his death and resurrection you have eternal life in him for the now and later. This assurance produces rest.

The Israelites did not have confidence in the living God, they went back to what was familiar to them. Therefore, they disobeyed God in the wilderness and could not enter His rest.  There is a place in God where you can release all aspects of your life.  This does not mean you do not do anything because faith and actions go together. What it does mean is you are trusting in God and waiting on His guidance.

I trust God because of who He is and what He has done.  As I trust God ‘the rest’ is a peace within me. I know what ever happens in life His promise to take care of me as well as lead me are truths I have witnessed in action.

One day in prayer I heard in my spirit ‘rest’ at first I thought it pertained to my physical body I had been pushing my ankle and experienced more swelling but a few days later I heard in my spirit ‘Rest equals faith.’ I have been pondering this for a few days.

When we naturally rest, we are at peace, we are relaxed (less tension and anxious), we are still (soothed) and we get rejuvenated (refreshed). As we can see rest is good for our natural bodies.

Just as rest in the natural environment is good for us ‘rest equals faith’ is even healthier for our spirit. Faith in God brings peace, tranquility and restoration.

Now if your belief in God does not give you rest then it is time to evaluate your faith. Ask yourself are you serving God out of obligations or because of love? Are you following religions rules or are you following the leading of the Holy Spirit? Are you doing works to earn from God or are you relying on His grace to do the work?

The Bible says, “Faith comes from hearing and hearing the Word of God.” First, we must believe He is God the bible states. Second, that He is a rewarder of those who seek him. How do we build our faith?

This is how we go from faith to faith, through hearing the word of God.  We also build our faith through reading the Word of God, I ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate His Word to my understanding. We also build our faith by mediating on the Word of God. As our faith grows, we apply action to our faith.

The just shall live by faith the bible says, every believer is given a deposit of faith you increase by hearing the Word of God. And by doing the word of God. Enter His rest in the present and live by faith in God.

When Rest is Best!

Be still…

When rest is best what does that mean? What is rest? The word rest means, “cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength 2-allow to be inactive in order to regain strength, health and energy.” Sounds like rest has benefits for us.

As I prayed and thought about this blog today continuing from yesterday came to mind. Is worry worth loosing peace? The answer to me is no it is not. How do you not worry?

Before I knew the Lord, I would worry about everything but through the last 28 years I’ve learned how to rest, trust and depend on God through it all.

Rest in stillness. The word stillness means, “The quality or a state of being still, quietness, silence, calmness, inactivity. Habitual silence or quiet.”

That really is the opposite of worry, stress and anxiousness. The Bible tells us in, Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Psalm 46:1-9 is about God being your refuge, strength and ever-present help in trouble. Then verse 10 “Be still,” is an instruction on what I’m to do. Be still in Hebrew means ‘let go’ and ‘release.’

Letting go of the worry, stress and anxiety by telling it to go, and reminding yourself God fights for you.

How do you know God through Jesus his Son? By asking him to come into your life, forgive you of your sins.

If worry is bothering you, call out to the Lord Jesus he will give you peace. Being still is rest! Rest is essential to health. We can not be human doings all the time we need balance to our lives rest is part of balance.

Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. 2-Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3-Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with swelling.” Those verses describe stress, troubles and problems.

Verses 4-9 describe God’s place and defense. I love verse 7 “The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.”  We can rest in God and know that he knows about our situations. And He is with us. Think on those things. By resting and trusting God you will have peace.