Resting is one of the most difficult thing for me to do. I usually have a book in hand, design articles to peruse, photography tutorials to practice, or talking to whoever is nearby. If I actually rest, where I close my eyes and still my body and quiet my mind, I last for about 30 minutes. I call it my power nap and it is really effective, but the kind of rest I am pondering for the new year is a different kind of rest.

It is the first week of 2016 and I am surrounded by resolutions and goals and I have decided to rest.  Here I have a new year at my finger tips to accomplish goals and I choose to rest? Is it really a code name for ‘lazy’? Is it a cop-out?

Just as desperation is my resolve this year, rest is my means of feeding that desperation.

Isaiah 30:15a ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength’.

I believe that God is for me–he is for everyone who put their trust in him– and if I believe he is for me than I know that he says that I am an overcomer.

The thing is, when I hear the word ‘overcomer’ I don’t think of desperation and rest. I think of fighting and battling and not giving up. However, this verse talks to me of repentance and rest.

Repentance is one step to overcoming.

Repentance is turning from that which hinders my walk with Christ.

Rest is being confident that I cannot save myself, it is a gift of God.

Rest is a unencumbered trust in my Lord.

When I repent and rest in the Truth, I find my salvation. I find peace. I find  that the everyday gunk of life is not insurmountable.

Rest is my strength.

I don’t feel strong after a session of worrying. I feel weak and hopeless. I don’t feel desperate for the Lord. I feel desperate to fix a situation that I have no way to fix. Worrying and fretting weakens the power of prayer and prayer becomes the last thing I resort to instead of being the first weapon I pick up.

It sounds a little like upside down thinking, but I have found that quieting my mind, will, emotions, and trusting God’s heart for me to be the greatest thing I can do to strengthen my soul.

To be strong I must rest.

And when I rest I am desperate for Him.