Hey Bestie! Can we talk about the spiritual benefits of rest?
God cares about you so much. He cares so much that he demonstrated the perfect way for you to live your life.
Jesus said “My Father is always working (John 5:17). Did you know that rest is a part of your work?
God made the entire earth and its inhabitants and on the seventh day, he decided to rest. If the all powerful and all knowing God rested, then it has to be important for us to do the same!
This post is all about the spiritual benefits of rest.
Are you ready? Let’s geaux!
Why Is Rest Important
Have you ever heard of the game called “Follow the Leader”? It’s a very popular children’s game where a leader performs an action and everyone else follows.
Well, life is a huge game of follow the leader where God is the leader and we all follow him. If I can be honest, some of the places God leads can seem scary.
The places he leads you to will most likely be outside of your comfort zone. Maybe resting is outside of your comfort zone because you had to grow up faster than you should of.
Or maybe you feel like there’s no way you can rest because you fear that your family won’t be provided for. Some of you may just have a type A personality and resting is not a part of the plan.
Despite your reasoning for not resting, you need to understand how important resting is for you.
3 Reasons Why Rest Is Important
1. God Rested
God is our example. If he rested, then we definitely should. Resting doesn’t always have to be laying down and going to sleep.
What if resting means to simply take a break from what you’ve been doing? Playing golf can be a form of rest for you.
2. You Were Designed To Rest
You’re a human being. You are a spirit, with a soul, inside of a body. Each component of your being needs to rest especially your mind.
Can I ask you a serious question? How often does your mind race?
3. Resting Allows You To Receive God’s Peace
What if God is trying to lead you into rest to give you that peace you’ve been longing for?
Resting comes with a peace that you won’t be able to receive until you slow down. Allow God to give you the peace that he has for you.
You deserve it!
Now let’s talk about the four stages of rest:
The Four Stages Of Rest
1. Resetting
When something is reset, it is allowed to start over as if it is brand new. This is what Jesus has done for believers all around the world.
He has reset our lives by cleansing us with his blood and making sure we received the Holy Spirit who is the key to bringing heaven to earth.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come”(2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV).
Your Bestie Forever has made you new by giving you a reset and he would like to pull you closer in this stage of rest.
2. Functioning
After you have been reset, you then are allowed to function. When you function, you are allowed to be used for your specific purpose.
During your reset, your old life fades away. But in this stage, you are now able to walk into the newness that Jesus has brought you to.
Functioning allows you to develop your true identity. You will no longer be blind to the things of God.
You can now see with a new set of eyes from the Kingdom.
3. Replenishing
In this stage, you’re like a baby. You will be getting built up again. Just as a baby learns to crawl, walk, then run; you will learn the same things in this stage.
This is the stage where God wants to fill you up with inspiration, encouragement, and power so that you can continue functioning in your purpose.
He wants to have one on one time to pour into you.
4. Refreshing
After resetting, functioning, and replenishing, the refreshing stage occurs.
This is a crucial stage because your strength is being restored. There are many people who bare crosses that don’t realize the effect that the crosses have on them.
Many of you are so busy taking punch after punch and instead of bringing your bruises to God, you are trying to heal them yourself.
In refreshing, God becomes your Great Physician. He examines you, heals every broken bone and ailment within your body, and restores your strength.
Without rest, you would be walking around with so much unresolved pain and trauma.
We all will have to follow the leader to rest. In a world that promotes busyness, God is asking his people to rest.
What if the only faith move God is waiting on you to bust, is following him into rest?
Working is great, but so is resting. You do not have to be afraid of missing out because resting is not a loss, it’s a gain.
Even the muscles within your body needs a period of rest for growth. Each stage of rest is vital to your growth.
7 Spiritual Benefits Of Rest
Resting is not only good for your physical being. Remember you are a spirit, with a soul, inside of a body. The three components of you all work together to promote the best possible life for you.
You are the one steering however meaning you get to choose how much life you truly will live.
Here are the seven spiritual benefits of rest:
1. Direction
Mark 1:35-39 NIV
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else to the nearby villages so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
In this scripture, Jesus is showing his routine of getting up early and going to rest in prayer alone. After his alone time with God, he knew that he had to go to the nearby villages to preach.
Can we be honest with ourselves and admit that we know very little about the world we live in? Think about it: You were born and you literally are learning to navigate the world as you grow.
God knows everything about you and the world because he created it and you.
When you start to enter your rest, you will be surprised to see the direction God gives you.
Bestie, the trouble you’re having with connecting with your spouse is a sign that you need to rest in prayer to get direction.
2. Connection And Intimacy
Luke 5:15-16 NLT
“But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.”
Have you ever had many people around you, but you still felt alone in what you were going through? In this scripture, Jesus healed a few people and told them not to tell anyone, but instead they told everyone.
You may be going through a betrayal or something significant in your life and no one seems to understand you. Do you know that this is the perfect opportunity to rest?
During your rest, you’ll get to experience the connection and intimacy with the only one who can feel and understand what you’re going through.
3. Clarity
Luke 6:12-13 NIV
“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.”
Mark 3:13-16 NIV
“Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.”
Resting in prayer brings clarity to your direction. It helps you to see what God is telling you without overthinking or worrying about a misstep.
How many times have you received clarity in noise? Probably not many times right?
4. Safety
Psalm 4:8 NKJV
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Do you feel safe where you are? I’m not just talking about physically, but emotionally, spiritually, and mentally as well.
Feeling safe is important to your life and resting in God can show you how you can feel safe regardless of what’s transpiring in your life.
5. Recognition Of What’s Truly Important
Mark 6:31-32 NIV
Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.
Sometimes being alone is the only time that we can take to reflect on the things that truly matter. What are those things for you?
In rest, you’ll be able to see what is truly important.
6. Peace
Philippians 2:6-7
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
The peace that God wants to give you is unexplainable. He doesn’t want you to worry in the rest because that would be purposeless.
He wants you to talk to him about everything and thank him for what he already has done and after that he promises a peace that you can’t explain.
7. True Freedom
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Bestie, true freedom is awaiting you. You can have it now while you’re on earth. You’re not waiting to get to heaven to experience what God wants to give you now.
As you rest, you’ll get to experience true freedom.
This post was all about the spiritual benefits of rest.
Remember you’re destined to win because he got up!
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