Rest

 Been in the Word yet? Prayer? Could be a long day without any sustenance.

One of the blessings of our salvation is the restoration of rest. There is, of course, a future eternal rest, but there is also a present tense rest for us to enjoy. Christ told the multitudes, "Come unto Me, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me." In a burdened, restless, dissatisfied world, we should stand out as those who are at rest.
The Holy Spirit defined that rest for us in Hebrews 8:10. He that has ceased from his own labor just as God completely rested from the work of creation; he it is who has found the rest intended for him by his Savior.
Now the difficult thing to accept is that I enter into that rest by laboring zealously. The key is that it is not my own labor, but it is only accomplished through Christ. The reason I grow weary in well-doing, tired of Christian service, is that I am constantly trying to do God's work in my own strength. The only way to rest and labor at the same time is by faith and obedience. I must be in the Word of God for it reveals to me what I am--strengthless without Him--and what I must do--rely totally on His strength abundantly available through the Spirit. To fully understand myself, I must understand God's truth. His Word is the mirror into which I gaze to see myself as God sees me. Such an "assessment" motivates me to come boldly in prayer in order to obtain help in time of need. (Which, by the way, is all day long every day.) If I am in the Word, I will fully understand as the Spirit leads me that the victorious Christian life is totally impossible outside of total submission to Him and total reliance on His grace and mercy through prayer. That is true rest. That makes "I can do all things through Him" an energizing truth. .That is realizing that His strength is made perfect in weakness; that when I am weak, then--and only then--am I strong. And only then will I find my daily ministry to be overwhelmingly restful--even in its most hectic, demanding moments.