Rest is not inactivity. It is Holy Spirit-directed activity.

What I'm talking about here is inward rest. It is about first receiving from Jesus His peace, His grace and His wisdom.

It is about letting the Holy Spirit in us lead us to do the right things at the right time, with the most amazing God-kind of results.

Let us take a look at the story of two sisters, Martha and Mary, from the Bible:
One day, Jesus visited their home, and Martha immediately got busy serving Him. Mary, on the other
hand, sat at Jesus' feet to listen to Him teach. 

After a while, Martha got angry and said to Jesus, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me" (Luke 10:40).

Based on Middle Eastern culture, when you have guests over at your home, you ought to prepare to look after their needs. So Martha wasn't doing anything wrong; in fact, in the natural she was doing what was right.

Yet Jesus' response to Martha's complaint was this: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41–42).

Our Lord gently rebuked Martha and defended Mary.

Notice Jesus didn't rebuke Martha for her service. He showed her how she was "worried and troubled about many things." And He told her that "one thing is needed"—sitting at His feet and listening to His words.

Is it practical to just be occupied with Jesus? Absolutely.

When you rest, Jesus will cause you to receive His inexhaustible grace, wisdom and supply.

Beloved, you don't have to feel like you have to go through each day struggling and striving to please
God so He can make things work in your favor.

Catch this revelation—God is already pleased with you, because God is pleased with His Son, Jesus (see Matthew 3:17). You can rest. The work is finished. Jesus has provided everything you'll ever need!

God wants to reveal His goodness to you. He wants to bless you in ways greater than you can ever imagine.


If you’re dealing with a financial struggle, 

• If you’re in need of healing in your body,
  
• If you’re struggling in your marriage,
  
• If your child is going down the wrong path, 

Do the one thing that’s necessary—rest in the Lord’s presence and receive from Him! Place your focus

If you aren’t sure what decision to make for your future... in the midst of your struggle, on Him.

The Lord is your provision, your healing, your restoration and your wisdom. When you look to Him, He will be everything you need.

Remember, whatever you need in your life today, look to Jesus. It’s not about your limitations; it’s about His love. It’s not about your goodness; it’s about His grace.

Jesus has provided everything you need. All you have to “do” is rest and receive from Him.

 

MATTHEW 14:27
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

What are you facing today that has you hinting it's only a matter of time before you go under? Do you feel alone, not knowing which way to turn?

Be comforted that Jesus sees what you are going through and He always comes to where you are in your darkest hour. He did that for His disciples one stormy night on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus came, walking on the stormy waters, walking on top of the problem that was threatening to overwhelm them. He is indeed the King and Lord over the storms!

When your eyes are on Christ, even though the storms are raging and the winds are blowing, you will know that you are above your troubles and circumstances. When people ask you how you are doing under the circumstances, tell them, “I am not under the circumstances. I am on top of them because my God is above all!”

Don’t be fearful. He will come to you walking on the stormy waters. Hear His comforting voice telling you, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

And as you behold Jesus, you become like Him. You will find yourself doing things you did not know you could do. You will, like Peter, walk on water. This happens when you are occupied with the person of Jesus, with His resources, love, wisdom, ability, power and majesty.

Even during the times when you take your eyes off Jesus, He never takes His eyes off you. And when you cry out to Him, He will immediately stretch out His hand to catch hold of you. You will not go under.

There may be times that you are not able to find your way back. Jesus will then hold your hand and walk you back to the boat. And like Peter, you will realize that with your hand in His, the storm will come to a standstill! 

JOHN 11:40
Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”

God, who parted the Red Sea, rained manna from heaven, caused the walls of Jericho to fall, shut the lions’ mouths, healed the sick, raised the dead and calmed the sea, still performs miracles today.

However, some Christians doubt that God wants to work a miracle for them today. They believe that there were miracles when Jesus walked the earth, but they think that the day of miracles is over. And they talk about how everything will be perfect one day in the sweet by and by. But God wants us to know that He is still the God of miracles today.

Martha was like one of those Christians. She wondered if Jesus could perform a miracle when her brother Lazarus died. By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, Lazarus had already been dead for four days. So she thought that Jesus was four days too late. That is why she said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21) And even when Jesus said that Lazarus would rise again, she said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:24)

Martha believed that Jesus could perform miracles in the past and would do the same in the future, but she did not believe that He could give her a miracle when she needed it right then. You see, Martha was someone who lived wishing that the past could be changed and believing that the future would be better. But she did not believe that the “I Am” was there to meet her present need. Is that how you're living your life?

Today, God stands at the point of your need. What miracle do you need from Him? Believe that He is still the same miracle-working God today. Believe that you will see the glory of God. Believe and you will see your miracle! 

MATTHEW 14:27
But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

What are you facing today that has you hinting it's only a matter of time before you go under? Do you feel alone, not knowing which way to turn?

Be comforted that Jesus sees what you are going through and He always comes to where you are in your darkest hour. He did that for His disciples one stormy night on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus came, walking on the stormy waters, walking on top of the problem that was threatening to overwhelm them. He is indeed the King and Lord over the storms!

When your eyes are on Christ, even though the storms are raging and the winds are blowing, you will know that you are above your troubles and circumstances. When people ask you how you are doing under the circumstances, tell them, “I am not under the circumstances. I am on top of them because my God is above all!”

Don’t be fearful. He will come to you walking on the stormy waters. Hear His comforting voice telling you, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

And as you behold Jesus, you become like Him. You will find yourself doing things you did not know you could do. You will, like Peter, walk on water. This happens when you are occupied with the person of Jesus, with His resources, love, wisdom, ability, power and majesty.

Even during the times when you take your eyes off Jesus, He never takes His eyes off you. And when you cry out to Him, He will immediately stretch out His hand to catch hold of you. You will not go under.

There may be times that you are not able to find your way back. Jesus will then hold your hand and walk you back to the boat. And like Peter, you will realize that with your hand in His, the storm will come to a standstill! 

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 

When you say, “I can manage this problem by myself, Lord,” God says, “Okay, you do it then.” But when you say, “Help me, Lord! I need You. I cannot do this on my own,” God says, “Good, I have been waiting for you to say that. You cannot, but I can. Now, watch Me!” That is how God is—He loves it when you depend on Him.

You see, when you think that you are strong and don’t need God, He cannot help you. But when you need Him and look to Him, He will not leave you weak and helpless. He comes and becomes the strength of your life. He becomes the breakthrough that you need.

It is not about self-discipline or willpower that would help you overcome, but the power of God. True deliverance will not come by your own strength, but by “[being] strong in the Lord and in the power of His might”.

So when you say, “I can do something about it,” you are still relying on your human strength. But when you say to God, “I cannot, but You can,” you have just tapped into the real source of your strength—Jesus. And as you rest in His strength, you will see His power manifesting in your life! 

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Romans 8:32

If there’s one thing that God wants you to know and believe, it’s how much He loves you and is willing to heal you. How much does He love you? He was willing to give up His beloved Son Jesus—heaven’s best—for you.

Now, once you realize how much God loves Jesus, ask yourself this: If God willingly gave Jesus up for me, would He withhold healing from me?

If God withholds healing from you after He has already given you Jesus, then it would mean that your healing is greater or more important than Jesus.

No my friend, God has already given you heaven’s best. How will He not also freely give you all things, including the healing and wholeness you desire?

Whether you are trusting God for, catch a fresh revelation of His heart to heal you and restore to you today. Come EXPECTANTLY to Him and receive wholeness in all areas of your life! 

If 2/3 Jesus' ministry dealt with healing you'd think that healing today would be an accepted reality. Amazingly enough, it isn't. 

Most people, Christians included, do not think healing is possible today, or if they do, it's not for them. In other words, they believe miracles are possible, they've heard of them happening, but they don't believe a miracle will happen for them. And you know what? It won't.

The bible tells us that life and death are in the power of the tongue. That means that our tongue has power. The words we speak produce results. If you say something won't happen for you, it won't. But that doesn't seem fair, right? Why not? If you say something will happen for you and it does. Does that seem fairer?

Why are we so hesitant to speak good over ourselves and so quick to speak bad? Is it because usually the bad already has a symptom to go along with it? Symptoms can be fact in our bodies but they are not truth. Even an X-Ray is a visual fact but it's still not the truth.

Truth is, by His stripes, the punishment Jesus took in our place, we ARE healed. Not waiting to be but already are. Our healing has been sitting on a shelf for over 2000 years waiting for us to take it down and strap it on.

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead He told the people to remove his grave clothes. Lazarus was wearing the stench of death and until he removed those garments he would continue to smell like death.

We wear those same garments when we talk about sickness and disease. We are actually clothing ourselves with grave clothes. When you speak the word over yourself you are actually dressing yourself with life. Death no longer has dominion over you. You are a sweet fragrance to The Lord instead of the stench of death.

Which garments will you put on everyday? Will you change clothes 50 times a day like a child playing dress up, wavering between life and death?

After it says life and death are in the power of the tongue, it goes on to give you the how. It tells us to choose life. How do you do this? By speaking the truth and not the facts. 

Have you ever wondered what it means when the word says, "As He is so are you in this world"? Have you ever looked through a camera lens? When you focus the camera on one subject that's all you can see. You can't see anything else even if it's 6" out of range. 

That's how God sees us. He focuses on Jesus and you're right behind Him but the Father only sees His Son. If He wants to see what you're doing so He looks to see what Jesus did.

But are we like Jesus?

Do we walk on water, open blind eyes, cleanse the lepers? Does the clothes we wear heal anyone who touches them? Would our shadow heal those we passed like Peter's did?

Do we, as professed believers, look any different than those that don't believe? We are to be a peculiar people, set apart, but are we?

Do you talk about others, and not in a good way, like the world? Do we complain about our spouses, kids, jobs, aches and pains constantly?

Mark 11:23 tells us to speak to the mountain, or problem, and it will be cast into the sea. When was the last time you spoke to your spouse or children instead of complained to them or about them?

Problems at work? Speak to your boss about them and discover a solution for change.

Need to be healed? Speak the word to your disease or pain and watch it melt away like wax running down a candle.

Whatever the mountain you face can be cast away by speaking. Going to God and complaining isn't prayer. When you go to God giving thanks for what His son has already done for us is a sweet aroma to our Father.

When that sweet fragrance reaches heaven, God looks at His son and is well pleased by all His children.

Because as Jesus is, without strife or pain, so are we in this world.