Resting In The Blessing Part 2 - From Striving To Resting : Pastor Tony Samuels

We must remember that true faith will always lead us to a place of rest. If you apply this word to your life, you will never be subject to burnout. You will never miss a due season because you ran out of energy, and you will have a victorious life with the Lord full of joy and peace. As we talk about rest, we must look at the Creator of rest, which is the Lord Himself.

Genesis 2:2-3 (AMPC) says, And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. This is amazing! The Creator of energy and life still took time to rest after He worked. Then, it says that God blessed the day of rest. So when we are in a place of rest, we are actually in the Blessing.

When you rest, it will activate the power of the Blessing in your life. The Blessing is God’s empowerment that He places in our lives. When we rest, the Blessing goes to work; and when we start trying to work, it goes into rest mode. Look at Proverbs 10:22 (AMPC) says, The blessing of the Lord—it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it]. The Blessing wants to do the work in our lives. When we toil, it goes counter-productive against the Blessing; it actually hinders the Blessing. To toil means: hard and continuous work; exhausting labor or effort. Is your walk with the Lord hard? Does it seem like you are in a work that leaves you exhausted? Then you have left the rest of God, and you are in toil.

The challenge with the rest of God is actually entering that rest. The Bible says that we have to work to enter this place of rest. Hebrews 4:11 (AMPC) says, Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell]. We have to labor to enter His rest. Notice, we have to be zealous to enter this place of rest. To go from trusting ourselves to trusting God can be a tough transition; to let go of something you have been holding on to tightly can be a difficult thing. The place of rest is a place of believing God. When you don’t believe, you will leave rest and begin to try to handle things on your own… and that’s when we enter the works of the flesh that produce no rest.

The true pursuit of God’s Presence will always bring you to a place of rest. As a matter of fact, there is no rest outside of the Presence of the Lord. Moses understood this in Exodus 33:14-15 (AMPC): And the Lord said, My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. And Moses said to the Lord, If Your Presence does not go with me, do not carry us up from here! Remember, it’s never a matter of destination; it’s a matter of His Presence. Is His Presence there? God told Moses, “If my Presence goes with you, I will give you rest.” Wherever His presence is, there will be rest.

Even though God was bringing them into a land flowing with milk and honey, Moses put a higher value on the Presence of the Lord than all the benefits of the land. When you are deciding on an opportunity or a destination, make sure the Presence of the Lord is in it. Then, you are guaranteed a place of rest and victory. Ask yourself, what or who are you pursuing? Is it filling you or draining you? We must be continually refilled and refreshed with His Presence.

Our Lord Jesus invites us. He is so amazing, so giving; He wants to take away what is draining us and give us His mantle of rest. Mathew 11:28-30 (TPT) says, “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.” I am excited for you; as you apply this Word, you are going to enter the Flow of the Lord, and you will experience that continual place of rest! So let’s stop striving and start resting in the Blessing!