How to Enter into the Rest of Faith

When I first started hearing about and learning about faith, I didn’t realize that I internalized the message as a new thing to do.  I was excited to learn that just as Jesus healed every single person that came to Him for healing when He walked the earth, that I could believe in faith for healing too, for example.  So, I started seeking after healing and striving to believe harder for it. Quite often this all ended in no healing, condemnation about my lack of faith, and wondering what I was doing wrong.  

I had been stressed by the problems in my life before but now I still had the problems PLUS the stress of trying to have faith.  

The opposite of stress is rest and you can either have the stress of faith or the rest of faith.  Only one of them gets you the results you want. Let’s see how to enter that rest of faith.

The old-time Israelites, the ones who saw the miracles in Egypt that allowed them to get free, the ones who walked through the Red Sea on dry ground, the ones who were miraculously fed every day with manna - and the ones who complained and grumbled every chance they got - those Israelites were unable to enter the Promised Land because of unbelief.  They get a lot of our attention when we retell the story.

But today I want you to look at the next generation, their kids, the ones who did get to enter the Promised Land and receive all that God had for them.  We can learn a lot about the rest of faith and actually attaining the promises from them.

This Joshua generation grew up knowing nothing but God.  Their parents had been surrounded by the culture of Egypt for years.  Egypt had many gods they worshipped but this young generation was not exposed to all their evil practices. 

All they knew was their God led they by day by a cloud and by night with fire.  All they knew was their God provided them manna every day (except the seventh day and that the sixth day’s manna lasted through the seventh day even though any other day it got rotten).  All they knew was that their clothes and shoes never wore out during the forty years. (Deuteronomy 29:5)  All they knew was God’s presence and supernatural supply.

That is what it will take for you too to enter into the rest of faith and gain the promises God has for you.  You will need to know nothing else but God. Maybe that means you’ll need to put aside religious traditions, college education, or self-reliance. Maybe that means you’ll need to get to know your God better. Or learn to practice His presence more. You’ll need to get to the place where you are listening for God’s voice in every situation of life because you expect to hear it.  For me, it meant having no plan B.  No other means by which I would rely on for things to happen.  God would be my source for all good things.

Maybe you think it would be easier if you saw some miracles in your life like the cloud of fire or saw His provision by free manna every day.  God is still guiding our lives and providing for us, just in different ways. Just think about how God has gotten you through everything you have gone through in the past.  You are still here so He must have gotten you through it. Every cold or sinus infection you have had, he has delivered you from. Every meal you ate even if it was Spaghetti-O's out of the can (I like the kind with hot dogs🙂) was His provision.  He would have liked to provide more and better for you if you would have allowed Him. Gratitude, awareness, and acknowledgment of God doing these things for you will cause you to enter the rest of faith.

The Joshua generation was raised hearing about God all the time.  You know they heard the story of the Red Sea until they were tired of hearing about it.  Their parents may not have believed that they would be successful in taking the Promised Land but they still would have told about the time all of Egypt was dark but there was light in the land of Goshen where they lived.  

Perhaps after a few years wandering in the wilderness, when it was clear God was not going to change His mind and let them into the Promised Land, perhaps they also told their children, “If I had it to do all over again, I’d choose to obey God!”

I’ve decided I don’t want to get to heaven one day and find myself saying, “If I had it all to do over again, I would have lived more full out for God.  I would have believed Him more, honored Him more, talked about Him more. I see now how worthy He is and I wish I would have praised Him with my whole being and not just sung those songs at church as if they had no meaning.  I wish I would have kept Him as the center of Christmas. I would spend more time with Him and His word if I was doing it again. I wish I hadn’t worried and stressed so much either. Now that I see Him in all His glory I know that I could have really just trusted and obeyed Him.  I wonder what my life could have been like if I had done that? So many years wasted.”

We need to talk often to ourselves, to our kids, and to anyone who will listen about how great our God is.  He is our life!

Today as I sat down to write this (let me give you a quick insight into my day), I think my ground flaxseed may have gone bad because my stomach was not happy!  I wasn’t feeling good and I was trying to get my house under control from all the Christmas decorations that I’m still trying to put up. And I felt like the day was going too fast and my to-do list was too long and all I really wanted to do was curl up on the couch and watch another Hallmark Christmas movie (yes, you heard that right, another one today - don’t judge!).  So, what did I do? I got on my knees and I said something like, “God, I put everything else aside right now and I worship you.” I thanked Him and spent some time praising Him and talking about how nothing mattered more on my to-do list than to do this right now because I needed to recenter my eyes back on Him. And every time, God faithfully meets me there and melts away my stress.  He honors me when I honor Him. 

He gives me a rest of faith when He is all I know, when I make Him the center of my attention, and when I speak of His greatness.  

One last thought...the Joshua generation didn’t let their parent’s unbelief become their unbelief.  Your past experiences and your family’s past experiences cannot stop you from walking into the Promised Land if you’ll do it in the rest of faith.

Need some help with finding rest in the overwhelm of life?  Get the FREE 4-part video series: Stop the Overwhelm by clicking here.