Take a Load Off

 By Andrea Merrell

 

Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].         1 Peter 5:7 AMP

 

When someone tells us to “take a load off,” it’s another way of saying, “have a seat and rest a while.”

 

God gives us the same invitation as we lug around our heavy burdens, worrying about and trying to figure out how to fix every situation. He invites us to come to Him. Then He further invites us to cast our cares on Him—our anxieties, worries, and concerns—once and for all.

 

What a relief to know we are not responsible—or expected—to fix all our problems. We don’t have to worry about them, carry them around day and night, or try to figure everything out.

 

If life is getting you down, it’s time to take a mental and emotional break. Give God your problems. He can handle them. Don’t be hesitant or afraid to take a load off.

 

Rest in Him. He is faithful.

 

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net ad iosphere.)

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If life is getting you down, it’s time to take a mental and emotional break. Give God your problems. He can handle them. Don’t be hesitant or afraid to take a load off. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

 

 

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Learn to Go with the Flow

 By Andrea Merrell

 

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Proverbs 16:9 NLT

 

I’m an excessive planner. A list maker. Always thinking ahead about the what ifs and all that needs to be done.

 

In Jesus Calling, Sarah Young calls that “a commonly practiced form of unbelief.” She goes on to say, “Just when you think you have prepared for all possibilities, something unexpected pops up and throws things into confusion.” 

 

Ouch! Ever been there? I have. More times than I can count. By trying to control the future, the only thing I ever accomplish is losing my peace.

 

In reality, we’re not meant to be in control or figure out the future. When we place our life in God’s hands, our responsibility is to trust Him and walk in step with Him one day, one moment at a time. As a popular song says, “there’s not a day ahead He has not seen.”

 

Psalm 37:3-7 gives us a simple formula: trust, delight, commit, rest. Now that’s a recipe for true peace.

 

I’m still a work in progress, but I’m learning to go with the flow—God’s flow.

 

How about you?

 

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Phil_Bird.)

 

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By excessive planning and trying to control the future, all we accomplish is losing our peace. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

 

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The Spiritual Act of Rest

By Andrea Merrell

 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary

and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:20 NLT

I don’t know about you, but I’m not very good at resting. Even when I try, my mind spins out a to-do list three miles long and reminds me there’s no time to take a break.

Somehow, we’ve been deceived into thinking rest is equivalent to lazy. Not so. Even Jesus took time to pull away from the demands of the crowd to rest and spend time with His Father.

What we fail to realize is that when we learn to rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him (Psalm 37:7), God sees it as an act of worship. Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] will gain new strength and renew their power (Isaiah 40:31 AMP). In returning and rest you shall be saved. In quietness and confidence shall be your strength (Isaiah 30:15).

In Jesus Calling, Sarah Young writes: “Rest in Me, my weary one, for this is a form of worship.”

In God’s kingdom, everything has a purpose—even rest. When we’re weary, He invites us to simply come to Him. In His presence, we will find rest for our soul.

As you go through this holiday season, take some time away from the busyness of your day, and spend it with the Lord. He invites you to rest.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

(Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.)

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When we’re weary, the Lord invites us to simply come to Him. In His presence, we will find rest for our soul. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)

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The Spiritual Discipline of Rest

By Andrea Merrell 

The Lord is my shepherd;

    I have all that I need.

 He lets me rest in green meadows;

    he leads me beside peaceful streams.

He renews my strength.

He guides me along right paths,

    bringing honor to his name.

Psalm 23:1-3 NLT

It happens when I least expect it. After all these years, I should recognize the signs—fatigue, failure, and frustration.

When my body is overly tired, fatigue can lead to failure in whatever I’m doing. Failure leads to frustration. When I’m frustrated, I get discouraged and want to give up and quit.

In reality, exhaustion is not merely physical. It also affects us mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. Jesus knew this truth. That’s why He took the time to rest. When we constantly overdo it and push ourselves, we get stressed out and burned out. But we tend to keep going so no one will view us as lazy or unmotivated. We don’t think resting is spiritual.

I read somewhere that sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is take a break, take a vacation, or just go to bed. When we’re at our best, we can honor God through our normal, daily activities. This is what the Message translation says in Romans 12:1:  So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. 

 

When we live our lives as unto the Lord and commit ourselves—and everything we do—to Him, He accepts it as an offering of worship.

Begin today to live your life as an act of worship, and develop the spiritual discipline of rest.

(Photos courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/marcom/Stuart Miles.)

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Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is rest. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to Tweet.)

Live your life as an act of worship and develop the spiritual discipline of rest. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to Tweet.)

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