February 5, 2019

Praying for Rest On All Sides

2019 has begun in a whirlwind of activity. As we dive into the second month of our New Year’s revelations and resolutions, one of mine is for the Lord to give me rest on all sides, in every aspect of my life. Tall order? I agree. I pray that huge prayer for you as well.

Lysa TerKeurst says “the truth is that we’re probably in the middle of some sort of spiritual or physical battle, or we just came out of one, or we are about to go into one. You might say that’s not very positive. Friend, I am POSITIVE that is the case.”

Is rest on all sides even a remote possibility in the midst of so much activity? I see so much scriptural backing to it. Here are four examples from:

  1. Joshua 21:44
  2. 2 Samuel 7:1
  3. 1 Kings 5:4
  4. 2 Chronicles 20:30

In all four examples, it seems a battle had just been fought with enemies and won.

In the book of Joshua, after the Lord led Joshua and the Israelites into the land of Canaan, there was so much more land to possess. The disagreement had been over land. Land was then given to all twelve tribes of Israel.

“Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” –Joshua 21:43-45.

In 2 Samuel, the Lord made a covenant with David.

“Now when the king live in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, ‘See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells ‘in a tent.’ And Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” –2 Samuel 7:1

Merely four chapters later, David rested perhaps TOO much and committed adultery with Bathsheba. In 2 Samuel 11, “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful…”

David was supposed to be out in battle, “the time when kings go out to battle.” He sinned with so much idle time. Sometimes too much rest is a detriment and possibly a downfall to us. David repented, though. David was a man after God’s own heart.

When King David passed away, he had passed along instructions and wisdom to Solomon for building the temple. David had been in a battle with Saul and his enemies, and God protected him. Now Solomon has rest.

“Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David. And Solomon sent word to Hiram, ‘You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune…” –1 Kings 5:4

In the last example, In the lineage of kings of Judah and Israel, many were selfish and were not God-honoring. King Jehoshaphat was a refreshing, Spirit-filled King. He reigned in Judah and strengthened himself against Israel.

During battle, King Jehoshaphat prayed one of my favorite prayers in the Bible, one I say almost daily as a breath prayer.

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” –2 Chronicles 20:12

Then the Lord delivered a victory in Jerusalem.

“They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.” –2 Chronicles 20:28-30

Now we have seen four different vignettes of rest on all sides, four different battles. What lessons can we learn from these five examples as we pray for rest on all sides, all aspects of our life?

  1. Pray for God’s favor and protection
  2. Be teachable and not stubborn– Surrender your will
  3. Be humble, not prideful
  4. Be nimble to change plans as the Holy Spirit leads
  5. Pray for your enemies but be prepared for battle

Friend, these five steps are not easy. You are a leader. you can do it, friend.

Each takes surrender and guidance by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rest on all sides is possible. May it be so in each of us. May it be so.

May we nestle, not wrestle with God.

Respond:

  1. Which of these five steps can you work on?
  2. Nestle, don’t wrestle with God.
May 30, 2017

Taking Care of the Rest

Sometimes it seems difficult for me to slow down, to rest. But when I do, what a gift it is.  My body, mind, spirit all know how much I need it.

A few weeks ago I had the blessing of enjoying sweet quality time in Arizona with two of my Proverbs 31 Ministries’ coworkers. Not only do I have the joy of working with these talented teammates, it was fun to get to know Glynnis Whitwer and Contessa Siegner even better.

We ate delicious Arizona cuisine on the road, laughed until our sides ached, and sang in the car. They were patient with my corny puns. We also experienced breathtaking landscape together of the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Williams, and Phoenix and worshiped at Glynnis’ awesome New City Church in Phoenix.

We also talked about our blessings and our struggles. We encouraged each other in our faith journeys. This past trip showed me even more how healthy and necessary it is to get away and rest, relax.

Brilliant Renaissance man Leonardo Da Vinci said, “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation. For when you come back to your work, your judgment will be surer…Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller, and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and a lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen.”

Sometimes it’s hard for me to remember that it’s one of the Ten Commandments–not a suggestion–to rest and to honor the Sabbath.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God…For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” –Exodus 20:8-10a, 11.

I am thankful to my parents for encouraging our family to honor the Sabbath and rest. Growing up and now, enjoying the Sabbath helps me fuel up for the week. If the Lord can do it all in six days, what makes me think I can’t?

Let’s give ourselves permission to rest and relax.  Let’s make more of an effort to unwind. I am stubborn, so it may take me a few times to do this. I promise you I’ll try my best to rest.

As Roman poet Ovid said, “Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”

Reflect:

–When is the last time you truly relaxed, truly rested with friends, your spouse or by yourself? Please comment.

–How do you observe the Sabbath? Please let us know.

–Do you feel over-programmed? What steps can you take to add more margin of rest in your schedule?

Renew:

–-“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 NIV

–“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.” –-Hebrews 4:9-10 NIV.

Recharge:

–What plans will you make to intentionally set aside time for vacation, rest, relaxation? Please comment.

–How will you plan to be still, be quiet for a time?

May 24, 2016

Taking Care of the Rest

Sometimes it seems difficult for me to slow down, to rest. But when I do, what a gift rest is.  My body, mind, spirit all know how much I need it.

This past weekend I had the blessing of enjoying sweet quality time with 11 of my Proverbs 31 Ministries’ coworkers at a dear friend’s beautiful Kiawah Island home. Not only do I have the joy of working with these talented teammates each day, it was a joy to get to know each one even better.

We ate delicious home-cooked meals, laughed until our sides ached, rode bicycles on the island, played the piano, walked on the beach,  cannonball jumped into the pool (hilarious!). We also talked about our blessings and our struggles. We encouraged each other in our faith journeys.

This past weekend showed me even more how healthy and necessary it is to get away and rest, relax.

Brilliant Renaissance man Leonardo Da Vinci said, “Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation. For when you come back to your work, your judgment will be surer…Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller, and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and a lack of harmony or proportion is more readily seen.”

In fact, it’s one of the Ten Commandments, not a suggestion, to rest, to honor the Sabbath.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God…For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” –Exodus 20:8-10a, 11.

I am thankful to my parents for encouraging our family to honor the Sabbath and rest. It helps  fuel back up for the week. If the Lord can do it all in six days, what makes me think I can’t?

Give yourself permission to rest and relax.  Let’s make more of an effort to unwind.

As Roman poet Ovid said, “Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”

Reflect:

–When is the last time you truly relaxed, truly rested with friends, your spouse or by yourself? Please comment.

–How do you observe the Sabbath? Please let us know.

–Are you over-programmed?

Renew:

–-“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 NIV

–“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.” –-Hebrews 4:9-10 NIV.

Recharge:

–What plans will you make to intentionally set aside time for vacation, rest, relaxation? Please comment.

–How will you plan to be still, be quiet for a time?

Next Page »