“In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength” Isaiah 30:15.

 

Have you been through periods in your life when it looks like everything is being thrown at you all at the same time? It seems like as you are coming out of one difficult situation, another one is waiting to envelope you. Every side you turn, there is a challenge waiting to confront you. If you have been through this situation or you are going through it right now, I have good news, if it will be of encouragement, you are not alone.



I have in recent times, faced situations that were rather challenging for me spiritually, physically and emotionally. There are times that I think I just could not go on. It was on one of those days that I came across the scripture verse above. It meant so much to me because I knew I needed a place of rest, a place so secure that I did not need to worry about anything.

 

The world we live in is full of tension and fast-paced activity. You face stress in almost every aspect of life; driving, commuting, parenting, work, business and other activity you can think of. There are days I return home and I am so tired I could barely open my mouth to say anything. Does that sound familiar to you?

 

You can imagine then how I felt when I came across the above verse, especially the part that says, ‘…in quietness and confidence shall be your strength’. Quietness means a place of trust, total dependence on God. Whenever I carried our last child Precious in my arms when she was a baby, she just rested there without being afraid that she might fall. So should our attitude be when the Lord takes us through the seemingly stormy rides of life. Confidence is faith in God’s ability to do what He has promised to do. When we rest in the Lord, from within comes the confidence that we can overcome any situation, which comes our way. Such was the confidence that made Paul affirm, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ Phil 4:13.

 

How then do we rest in the Lord? Martin Luther said that he could get so busy that he first needed to spend at least three hours a day in prayer to get everything done. Real rest is found in the presence of God. When we come to God in prayer, He knows everything we want to say even before we open our mouths. There have been times that all I do is just ‘rest’ in His presence, I just take a position which shows that I am in prayer mode and just stay there and focus on Him. These are times when words fail to express the way I feel.

 

Whatever you may be going through today, James gives this golden advice, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.”

 

May you find rest in the Lord today and always.

 

Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the founder of  the Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. He lives in Kent, United Kingdom, where he works as an IT Professional. He currently serves as a Worship Leader as well as Home Group Leader  in his local church and on occasion, speaks at invited events. He is the founder of the Biblepraise Fellowship Online Ministry and Moderator/Editor of the  Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address,  steve@biblepraise.org