Entering His Rest

With our recent financial woes unfolding in this nation, it is becoming increasingly harder to maintain our peace. I know for myself, I wanted to be in a much better financial position when these storms came. The Lord has pressed upon me the importance of "making ready" for years, but I felt like I had failed. I felt like I should have been more prepared for this time. But I felt the Lord saying that if we had acheived my goals of being debt free, off the grid, more self-sufficient with food, etc., I would miss the Glory of Him. It will be more glorious, and require more faith, to see Him provide in lean times than in times of plenty. The events that are taking place now are so He can reveal His glory to His people. I use this example to the point of exhaustion, but when the Hebrews left Egypt, they had nothing. When they came to the Red Sea, they waited on the provision of the Lord and He parted the seas and they walked on dry land. I'm tired of trying to find row boats, or jumping in to swim, struggling to fight in my own strength instead of waiting on the Lord. But in order to wait on Him, we must enter His rest. His peace "surpasses all understanding. (Phillipians 4:7)" He has given us authority to speak to the storms and calm them - we are overcomers in Him! (see Luke 8:22-25). Christ died at the place called Gilgatha - "the place of the skull". He came to crucify our minds so that we may live by the spirit - as Paul said, we are to live by the renewing of our minds. I don't want to get distracted here; my point is we need to keep our eyes on Him and walk by the spirit in the midst of trials and tribulations in the natural.

In talking about the coming Kingdom, Jesus said, "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all." Then, when the flood subsided, Noah released a dove to go out to see if it could find safety on dry land. The dove returned when it could not find a place of rest, but when it found safety, it went out and left. Just as in those days, today we need to say "'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you...Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you.' Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near. (Luke 10:5-6, 9-10)" We must enter His rest and walk in His peace to navigate these times. When we walk in His peace and rest in Him, the Kingdom is near - the Kingdom is at hand! Jesus was so aware of the peace within Him and who He was in the Father, that when He was touched by the sick woman in the crowds in Luke 8:45, 46, He felt the something leave Him. We, too, must be this in tune with the Father. It is also interesting to note, in verse 43 it says "she had spent all she had on doctors" - Jesus did what man could not do. The peace we have in Him will draw the world to us, and ultimately to Him. He is preparing His people with the present circumstance to turn our eyes and our hearts toward heaven. Wait and see the salvation and glory of the Lord!