The Power of Resting in the Lord

The Power of Resting in the Lord

By John

About two months ago I started having frequent headaches which didn’t go away. Normally I don’t suffer from headaches. It got so bad that I thought I might have malaria, which I also don’t normally get. Finally I went to our doctor friend and checked for malaria. It didn’t show, but since sometimes it doesn’t show, he suggested taking the treatment anyway just to make sure. I took it, but the headaches didn’t go away.

So, he suggested I take off for a week and just rest. I thought, Wow! You mean I should stop working--for a whole week? Yes, that’s what he said! I thought, I can’t do that. There is just too much to do! But the doctor ordered it, and finally it dawned on me that the Lord wanted me to have a break. He told me to read about resting in the Lord.

It was a life-changer for me. I listened to audios about resting in the Lord I don’t know how many times. Each time I got more from them.

Here are some of the jewels that spoke to me (these are from messages from Jesus):“You can choose to stay a little longer in My arms when you feel tempted to get up and get into your work right away. You can choose to pray for something instead of getting involved yourself. You can choose to hear from Me before giving an answer. You can choose to praise Me for the victory and refuse to let yourself get worried when you hear bad news.”

This one is almost hilarious, but sometimes I actually feel like this, ha! “Do you feel like the mountains of work you see before you are never going to go away, and you'll probably have to stay on earth during the Marriage Feast to try and finish it up, if not into the Millennium?”

This one spoke to me, as I’m climbing up in years: “Do you know why so many of My greatest prophets‚ warriors, and miracle workers throughout history were old before they began their truly powerful tasks for Me? It was in part the training, the wisdom, and all those things that took many years of experience to grow into.”

When my headache turned into a sinus infection, it hurt, and though I tried a saltwater rinse and some nose drops from the pharmacy, it didn’t go away. Finally I thought back on how the Lord healed me in my early days of living for Him. At that time I had some problems with my eyes, and when all the medicine didn’t help, a brother told me that we could just pray for the Lord to heal me. We did and He did! He actually healed me from several ailments at the time to show me His healing power. So now, after I took a stand of faith, the Lord is actually healing me.

And what does “resting in the Lord” have to do with my sinus infection and healing? Well, better health is just one of the benefits you can receive when practicing this wonderful way of life. The Lord said: “As you learn to slow things down and rest more in Me, you will reap the benefits‚ both physically and spiritually. For example … you won't have to make as many doctor visits or take as much medicine.”

Do you have tons of thoughts constantly going through your mind? Are they saying “Hello!” the minute you wake up? We have a lot of big challenges in front of us with our school project in the bush [in Africa], starting a new base in East Europe, planning follow-up visits into Congo, and setting things up so they run well without us being here all the time. At the same time, the Lord is teaching me plenty of personal lessons—lessons of love, balancing things out when there are opposite viewpoints, etc. All these things keep my mind occupied, and I needed to switch from thinking, worrying, planning, etc., to resting, loving, and trusting Him to work things out.

Here is something that helped me along that line: “The Enemy fights your getting calm in spirit; he hopes to convince you that it's ‘your responsibility’ to tend to things, and that because there are so many demands on your time, you can't afford the little ‘extras’ here and there to get calm before Me. That stinks of the Enemy and his demons of accomplishment, who try to get you so accomplishment-oriented that you forget that your work must be done primarily in the spirit.”

And what about the power of prayer? He says: “[Intercessory prayer] is really worth something spiritually. To accept this, and to do it, is a move toward fuller spirituality, as you're believing Me when I say that it's more effective than an equal amount of time spent on your other work.”

And meditation? Here is one quote that spoke to me, just to show that it’s really not so complicated: “Basically, any time you slow down and think about Me, focus on Me, and stop all the busy thoughts going through your mind and the busy impulses of your spirit, you're well on your way to meditating.”

Here are some practical tips the Lord gave me to help me put this way of life into action:
Take a little time to listen to the Lord before starting the day. If possible, write it down.
Before going to work, make a little priority list for the day, asking the Lord to fill me with His Spirit.
Taking mini breaks every so often in between my writing work. I found it actually helps to get up from the chair, walk away from the desk, raise my arms, and even do some light exercises, like swinging my arms to avoid back aches, moving my legs to circulate the blood through my body, breathing deeply, and getting my mind on the Lord, committing what I’m doing to Him, praising Him for what’s getting done, etc.
When I send an email I try to send a little prayer along with it, asking the Lord to bless it—the recipient and the request.
Taking short stops in between witnessing appointments, praying for the contact we just visited and for the next one we’ll be visiting.
Asking for prayer for specific needs is a great help, and when praying for others, the Lord blesses it.1
Meditation is one exercise I need to learn so much more about, but it helps me to let go of my burdens and take a little spirit trip on the mountain (or wherever the Spirit leads me), alone with Him, leaving the daily grind behind and breathing His fresh air, smelling flowers and enjoying His creation.
Keeping good communication with the people around me—my wife, child, teamworker, anybody around. As a team we do it better! It takes a bit of time, but afterwards more gets done and it bears better fruit.
Since we are surrounded by a lot of obstacles in this part of the world, I need to make a major push in my life to think about all the good and positive things in any situation or with any person I come into contact with.

The closer I stay to Jesus and the more time I take with Him, the more peace I have and the more fruitful my work is. So, time given to Jesus is time gained in results. It doesn’t make sense mathematically, but it proves true every day. And that’s basically what “resting in the Lord” comes down to for me.


1 Luke 6:38.