Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, NASB)
I’ve read a couple articles recently that have suggested both Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy plan to take the remainder of the year off after their FedEx Cup Playoffs are over. Bubba wants to spend time with his family and Rory needs to nurse his rib injury; but both accomplished players and multiple major champions desire rest.
We must be patient while allowing God to grow us into the fruit-producing plants that he already knows is our triumphant future.I completely get it. There are seasons in my life when I feel worn out, and the last thing I want to do is continue working. We all need rest. God knew this when he created the Sabbath. He rested after creating the universe. Yes, he created us to be fruitful and multiply, but he also designed us for rest in his own image. It is in our rest that we not only restore physically but also grow spiritually. When Jesus came to reveal the character of God to us, he invited us to rest in him. It is in this rest that we should live and grow.
A friend of mine in ministry, Bruce Witt, explains our rest in four stages. These rest periods come in stages, as do our triumphs.
As followers of Jesus, our first period of rest is found in repentance. When we come to Jesus, we are first called to repent of our sinful ways. When he began his ministry, Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:14). When we repent we choose to turn our lives in a different direction. Many Christians have never truly repented, many have chosen to accept a doctrine of faith that requires much work, but it is important that we all choose to turn in the direction of heaven that Jesus made known to man. True repentance involves surrender of our lives, a recognition of our brokenness, correction of our ways, and reconciliation of our sinful nature.
When we try to work our way through this stage of our spiritual journey, we find ourselves in more chaos than when we began. We are told about what a follower of Jesus should look like, bearing fruit, but we don’t see it being produced immediately in our lives. The seed of eternal life has just been planted in us; but we often feel the pressure to perform, so we forsake proper rest.
Jesus, however, wants to lead us to victory. We all want to reach the mountaintop, but God has just started a slow process of developing us into fruit producers. We must be patient while allowing God to grow us into the fruit-producing plants that he already knows is our triumphant future. This process begins in rest—in the valley, not on the mountaintop. There are several mountains for us to climb before we reach the fully mature version of us that God already knows we are going to become; however, we must rest in him before we begin our next climb.
Walking with God, growing into the character and likeness of Jesus begins with rest and reliance on him. I want to encourage you to start, or start over, in repentance. Ask, “Have I fully surrendered my life to the Lord? Have I recognized my weakness and brokenness? What directions of my life dealing with money, work, relationships, and spirituality need correction? And, do I need to reconcile anything to move forward with him?”
We are all on a spiritual journey, and sometimes we need to hit the reset button and make sure we’re pursuing him authentically before we see the fruit he desires to produce through us.
Next time in the Triumph in Rest process: Establishing our identity in Christ.
—
Josh Nelson
September 20, 2017
Copyright 2017 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
Other devotions in this series:
Stage 2: Establishing God’s Process for Growth
Stage 3: Maturity Leads to Sacrifice
Stage 4: Living Eternally