‘Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His faithful love endures forever.’ (Psalm 107:1)
Dearly beloved, have faith in God’s steadfast love and undying goodness.
For truly, His blessings are never-ending, His care is all-encompassing.
You can trust in Him. You can lean on Him. You can rest in His love.
We do not earn His blessings through the sweat of our brows.
We do not earn His favor through our righteousness.
We do not earn His love through our works.
Instead, it’s all given to us through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In fact, God’s word tells us to rest, until all our enemies have been made into our footstool.
Sin, death, lack, sickness, fear, worry – they’ve all been conquered by Jesus.
So rest in Jesus’ finished work. Rest in the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And rest in God’s steadfast love for you.
Be Greatly Blessed!
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your unwavering love for me.
I rest comforted and assured in your presence for I know that you’ll take care of me.
I know that my blessings do not depend on my own toil and effort. They come by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
No longer will I depend on my own efforts.
Instead, I’ll rely on your strength and rest in your love.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name,
AMEN!
Additional Thoughts:
The sabbatical year is not just about resting the fields from ploughing. Though this was good management of natural resources, it was also a reminder to God’s people that He was their ultimate provider. Not ploughing the land meant that the Israelites would depend upon God to meet their needs instead of depending on their own resources.
Therein lies a message here for weary workers. There are seasons when God calls us to lay the work aside, to lean on Him instead of depending upon our own efforts and relying on our own self-sufficient means.
Our time in ministry, our daily toil, whatever that may look like, could be feeling arduous and draining. We may feel constantly in motion with no rest on the horizon. We are over-extended and over-committed. Is it time to step away from work that is beginning to show signs of tiredness, mundaneness or lack of energy and enthusiasm? There is a season for everything under the sun and this includes a season of labour and a season of rest.
In resting there is renewal. Physically we move from exhaustion to a place where we have new strength and fresh energy. Emotionally we become stronger, less volatile and uncertain. Spiritually we grow in confidence and assurance that God can be depended upon to provide what we know we cannot. When we rest from the work, when we honour the Sabbath, we can then approach all of life with new vitality and vigour.
The long-term sustainability of the land depended upon a year’s rest. Are we any different? Surely if God wisely ordained a period for the land to renew its strength and productivity through rest, how much more do people need this space for replenishment?
Yes, our ventures need the same kind of wisdom. And so do our souls. There is a time to rest in the provision of our Father, whose well of goodness towards us never runs dry. What season are we in just now? If we are weary or burdened with our work and have been depending upon our own limited resources for too long,
perhaps it is time for our sabbatical rest.
So lean the Lord. Trust in His Goodness. And Renew your spirit.
