Resting in God | Building Our Relationship with God

What does it mean to Rest in God?

Well, throughout the Bible, we oftentimes see this word “rest” through the lens of God resting after Creation but what I’m talking about is a different kind of rest. In my opinion, I define resting in God as a state of surrender to Him; being willing to listen to His voice when we are lost.

Are we stopping and listening to God?

Psalms 46:10 (NKJV) says, “10. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

As Psalms 46:10 says, we are to be still and recognize that He is God. But how can we do this when our own relationship with Him is struggling? Even if we are Christians, we are still human and as such, fall prey to our own devices but despite this, we are called to stand out from the world we are in; being called to renew our minds.

Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) says, “1. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

We are called to continue to renew our minds in Christ but how can we do this if our minds are constantly active; thinking about what to do next and what other projects or assignments we need to get done? Well, we rest. We take the time to calm our mind and focus on God.

“It’s when we begin to stop and focus on God and who He is in our lives that we can begin to build our relationship with Him.”

In a recent devotional I read entitled “Seeing With the Eyes of Jesus” I learned so much about just taking the time to interact with the people around us; just like Jesus did when He was on Earth. However, because we are humans, we are always on the move and as such, we don’t always see the needs of the people around us, but Jesus did. He took the time to get to know the hurting, sick and those that were deemed unworthy by the society of His day. Are we doing the same?

“The hustle and bustle of our daily lives can cause us to become so focused on our own needs, agendas, and to-do lists that we don’t have the capacity to see or step into the needs of others.”

I recently read a blog post by Lynn Abbotts of Through Ink and Image entitled Revue: In Stillness and it is amazing; particularly in regard to how it relates to us as Christians in our relationship with God. In the blog post, Lynn Abbotts states that “I don’t believe “being still” has ever been easy for the humanity. We know exactly what needs to be done, what needs to be said, or what needs require filling. And we restlessly plunge ahead without giving our direction much forethought.”

However, this wasn’t the only quote that really touched me as a Christian and I feel that there are others that can encourage us as Christians.

• “He [Saul] turned the wrong way on a one way street. Destruction loomed. His compass needed realignment. And it took more watt-age than mere headlights to stop him.”
  • “During the three days that he waited in darkness, Saul probably did a lot of soul-searching. In the stillness, he listened for word from God.”
• “Paul initially placed his confidence in human wisdom but a genuine encounter with Christ showed him the futility of racing down the wrong avenue.”
• “God’s timing and path are frequently unexpected.”
  • “After all, God’s Word tells me again and again to wait on the Lord.”
• “And so it is with you and me. When my pace slows, when I stop and listen, I hear my heavenly Father’s gentle whisper. His grace guides me.”
• “I would first consult Abba’s Word, His road map. Abba’s truth helps me recognize those one way streets.”
• “… even when you and I have gone our own way, Paul’s life demonstrates that our God will gently and graciously redirect us.”
  • “In fact, grace calls me to be still and know that Abba is God. When I slow down in His presence, I willingly allow Him to handle whatever my day entails.”

Lynn Abbotts said, “When I am hurried or impatient, I invariably take a wrong turn, and head in a disastrous direction.”

Are we stopping and listening to God?

Psalms 37:7 (NKJV) says, “7. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of Him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.”

This also reminds me of a song by Johnny Diaz called Breathe. In this song, I feel it speaks a lot on us as Christians being patient and how because we are so busy in our everyday lives; we never stop to take a breathe and rest at Christ’s feet. What is truly interesting about this song is the fact that I regularly listen to this song when I feel that I am so busy that I never took the time to listen or read God’s Word.

“Building a relationship with God requires us to sometimes stop and take a moment to breathe. Like may keep going but our relationship with God can determine where we live eternally.”

It also reminds me of a blog post by Sue Love of Run With It entitled “Dependence on God”. In this blog post, Sue Love talks about what it means to be dependent on God when we are struggling in our lives and when we are weary. She stated that “So, if we are followers of Jesus Christ, we learn to take our burdens to the Lord and to lay them at his feet. And, we learn to rest in him and to not fret.”

Sue Love’s quote about laying our burdens at the feet of Jesus is something that I feel all Christians, new and those who grew up in the faith all have to come to grips with in our own lives and eventually our relationship with God.

Also, within the blog post, Sue Love has several quotes that I feel we as Christians can relate to when it comes to not just our relationship with God but also us as Christians resting in Him.

• “Even if we feel fear, which we sometimes will, we give it over to the Lord, and we let him fill our hearts with his peace.”
• “… we have to make this our regular practice to recognize when we are feeling fear, and then to immediately take our fears to the Lord in prayer and to hand them over to him, and to keep handing them over to him, and then to keep turning our hearts to him in prayer and in resting in him.”
  • “So, their [Satan and his fallen angels] lies may be very subtle and may be mixed in with the truth. So, what they say may sound like truth. It may sound good to our ears. So, we need to pray for much discernment so that we don’t get trapped by their lies.”
• “… if we want to have discernment so that we do not fall into a web of deceit, and get tricked into believing lies, then we need to be grounded in the Word of God.”
  • “… We must not only know what the Word teaches us, but we must be ones who put the Word into practice.”
• “Jesus has to be our Rock, our solid foundation. And, our trust has to be wholly in him, and our hearts yielded to him, if we are going to walk in victory over darkness and live in the light of truth.”

Sue Love said, “We can’t be giving the devil a foothold in our lives because we are dabbling in things we know are wrong for us, and then wonder why we don’t have victory. We have to put off the old in order to put on the new. The old has to die for the new, in Christ, to be able to thrive.”

As Christians, we have to continue to build our relationship with God with Him, but it has to start with us. We have to begin to rest aside that which we need God to get rid of and give it all to Him. This reminds me of a song by Shana Wilson entitled Press In Your Presence and this song is truly amazing; it focuses a lot on our relationship with God and how we are to press into Him and behold who He is.

Chorus

If I can just press, press in your presence

behold the beauty of your face

If I can just press, press in your presence

and never leave this place again

If I can just press, press in your presence

and leave all my cares behind me

I will behold, I’ll still believe, I will just lay, Lay at your feet

For I will behold I’ll still believe, I

will just praise, Praise at your feet

I will behold, I’ll still believe, I will

just lay, Lay at your feet

For I will behold, I’ll still believe, I

will just praise, Praise at your feet

Right Here In Your Presence

In the end, though, how we learn to build our relationship with God depends on us as Christians. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) says, “5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” We are called to trust in God with all of our hearts and as such, we need to let Him direct our paths; but how can we do this if we are still human beings?

So, what will we do as Christians?

Are we continuing to rest in God?

How are we developing our relationship with God?

 

God’s Blessings,

Joshua Reid

 

References

Abbotts, Lynn. “Revue: In Stillness,” April 3, 2019, throughinkandimage.com, https://throughinkandimage.com/2019/04/03/revue-in-stillness/ . Accessed 17, May 2019.

Johnny Diaz. “Breathe”, YouTube, uploaded by Johnny Diaz, 4 years ago, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnjeMwxFuBA . Accessed 23 May 2019.

Love, Sue. “Dependence on God,” March 27, 2018, runwithit.blog, https://runwithit.blog/2018/03/27/dependence-on-god/ . Accessed 20 May 2019.

Shana Wilson. “Press in Your Presence”, YouTube, uploaded by detroitdrummerboy, 10 years ago, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_68EM_Faros . Accessed 23 May 2019.

 

Picture References

Ann, Deborah. “God’s Timing Not Mine” 24 Nov 2018, poetrybydeborahann.wordpress.com, https://poetrybydeborahann.wordpress.com/2018/11/24/gods-timing-not-mine/ . Accessed 23 May 2018.

Author Unknown. “Psalms 46:10 NKJV” https://biblia.com/bible/nkjv/Ps%2046.10 . Accessed 16 May 2019.

Author Unknown. “Romans 12:1-2 NKJV” https://cellcode.us/quotes/romans-12-1-2-nkjv.html . Accessed 18 May 2019.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash