The  R E S T  that  H E A L S  it  A L L !

Have you ever wondered why you feel so much better after a nap?

Many who live in urban settings accept a lifestyle designed to produce mega-stress situations. Coping-strategies reach just so far, then our nervous system demands both mental and physical slowdown. We are forced to do that one thing that we hate - because we focused on going, on doing, on . . . well, you know . . .

YOU GO GIRL!

Men resist rest as well. This is expressed in 

The MAN-CAVE.

People in their 'teens' and twenties with a healthy lifestyle can keep going longer than their parents can before giving in to exhaustion.

If we are wise, we learn to slow down enough to 'go for the long-haul', instead of sprinting at top speed. Our gradually acquired adult responsibilities (spell that, 'family') cause a discipline of caution to take hold. We become aware that we are examples - good or otherwise - for our offspring. 

In earlier times, relationships within families were much less complicated. Children were taught, and their parents modeled, respect for their elders. God's Word through the Prophet Malachi declares that family generations will be reconciled to one another. What a joy that will be as our Heavenly Father smiles upon His children!

The human body was designed to heal itself, cell by cell, through rest from activity. We call it SLEEP - that blessed quiet that can remove us from our human 'squirrel-cage' existence when we allow it to do so. 'Ah, but there's the rub!' as Shakespeare said. 

Human ego wants to push ahead for fulfillment of its own lusts and desires. Ambition is a cruel task-master, and will drive us to self-destruction if we allow it to do so. On the other hand, let us consider this ancient wisdom . . .

"Trust in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday.

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 carries out wicked schemes.

Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.

Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.

But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity."

[Psalm 37:3-11 NASB]

Trust - Wait - Rest

Apostle Paul was writing to the Christian Believers in Galatia . . .

 

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

[Galatians 2:20  NASB]

Paul's testimony gathered from his writings - a major part of the New Testament - tells us that he had been  a sinner who persecuted Christian Believers . . .

Until he journeyed to Damascus. 

Then heaven opened and the Ascended Jesus Christ revealed Himself to Paul, temporarlly blinding him.

A disciple in Damascus named Ananias was sent by God to the place where Saul of Tarsus (Paul's original name) was waiting for heaven's next move. Ananias obediently prayed for Saul to receive Holy Spirit and to be healed. The blindness fell away, and the former persecutor of Christians became their champion.

After a long period of solitary discipleship, Paul went to Jerusalem and spoke with several of the original Apostles. He compared Holy Spirit's teaching with that of the men who had known and heard Jesus Christ both before and after the Crucifixion. Being encouraged that they were in harmony, Paul spent the rest of his life in obedient submission to His Lord, becoming a strong example for all Believers to follow.

[For further insight on Rest and its connection to the gift of unknown tongues (1 Corinthans 12 & 14), please read 'Rest that Heals it ALL' - part 2, which is linked from homepage.]