REST is Required! - Encouragement Café - March 25, 2016

REST Is Required!

Café Menufor Friday, March 25, 2016

Today’s Special is:  Looking For Rest In All The Wrong Places?

Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Roxanne Bellamy-Campbell

Main Ingredient: 

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.  Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2 NIV

Entrée:

My world can get really crazy in a flash and I can find myself completely swept away in the madness of it all.  

You know what I’m talking about; the pace, the press, the push, the pull that seems to take charge of our days ultimately shaping our lives in ways we never expected.  Sometimes it’s the storms of life that stir up madness from the outside breaking into our world.  Other times it’s the madness from the inside spilling out from our world within.

What does your madness look like?  Where does it come from?  How do you manage it?

Physical exhaustion can be easier to recognize than the counterparts of emotional and mental exhaustion.  It can make us physically ill.  Our bodies can tell us ENOUGH in so many different ways and we know it’s time to shut it all down.

So what about our minds?  What about our thoughts and feelings?  

How do you know when you are mentally and emotionally exhausted?  Is it only when your thoughts are reeling I CAN’T, NO MORE, ENOUGH, or I QUIT?  Is that how you know?  Or is it when your emotions are streaming frustration, anger, doubt, fear, stress, or anxiety and you snap?  Or when you silently slip into depression, hopelessness, helplessness and you literally or figuratively nap?

Regardless of how our madness shows up and shows out, what we live through does NOT have the final say over how we live through it.  WE DO!  We decide how to get through.  And we decide where we will go to get what we need to steady us in order to succeed. Look at Psalm 62:1-2.

Clearly God knew we would get like this, He knew we would need help with this, and He made a plan with provision for us to recharge, renew, and resume.  Let’s not forget that even Jesus got tired and needed rest.  (Mark 6:31) There’s no way we can go wrong following His lead doing this thing the way He did.

So, whether you find yourself in the middle of your madness, on the fringe of it, or the other side of it, please know, truly KNOW there is true rest for your soul waiting for you.  Let’s stay mindful that it’s not just our bodies and our minds that take a beating; our souls do too.  No matter where our madness is coming from, our bodies become exhausted, our minds overwhelmed, and our souls depleted.  

We need rest and we have to FIND it!

How do we find rest?  Getting alone with our Father God, seeking Him in prayer, trusting and knowing our needs will be met.  God hears you, God loves you and He wants to give you the rest you so desperately need.  Jesus showed us how to do this thing (Luke 5:16).

If you start to feel yourself getting caught up in the current of the madness of life, turn your attention to God, take hold of the Rock of your salvation, let God anchor you, secure you, and keep you through it all.

Take Out:

God has not forgotten you in your flood of daily living.  He sees you right where you are, in the midst of your life challenges.  He sees you, He knows your situation, and He has made arrangements for provision for you in advance.

Call out to Him in prayer and let Him lead you to that place of protection, peace, shelter, and rest that He so deeply desires for you.

Make the time daily to shift your focus from your world to His Word.  Get between the covers of the Word of God and wrap yourself in promise that will shelter you, comfort you, and never fail you.

God is a God of His WORD.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28 NIV

Dessert:

Dear Father God, thank You for loving us and never leaving us to journey on our own.  I am Yours and You are mine.  We thank You and praise You now for keeping Your promises to hear our cries and give us rest. We love You Lord.  We thank You now and always.  In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.

© 2016 by Roxanne Bellamy-Campbell.  All rights reserved.

Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?  Pull up a chair… He’s been waiting for you.

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The conversation at the Café is always hot and fresh.  We invite you to listen inas we gather around the table to discuss everyday life.

Comfort food for your soul is always on our menu, and friends are always close enough to hug.  We invite you to join us daily, as our writer’s share how the Lord continues to transform them into His glorious image.

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