Month: October 2019

October 22, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Rest and Restoration

Rest and Restoration

“But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 ESV)

I want those words to describe my life. I want to soar!

But I don’t always feel like an eagle. I’m more like a duck. Quack, quack, quack, waddling through the day. Can you relate?

Sometimes, I’m so weary that I can’t walk without nearly fainting.

What would it look like to run tirelessly and soar effortlessly?

I come back to the practice of rest. We’ve learned this month that rest isn’t only physical, but it’s also spiritual. It’s not only about pausing, but it’s about praying. It’s not always quiet isolation, but it’s connection with God. As you wait on the Lord, spiritual rest will lead to physical rest.

He’s the one who gives us true restoration, as he tells us in that familiar Psalm, “He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:2-3 ESV)

Billy Graham’s preaching ministry was launched to the next level during the Los Angeles Crusade in 1949. It was supposed to last two weeks, but it lasted eight weeks. Night after night, Billy preached. People came forward to commit their lives to Christ. The tent was filled again and again. It was exhausting for Billy. He even ran out of sermons and had to write fresh ones on the run. By his own admission in his biography, Billy Graham was spent, physically and spiritually.

Yet, he poured his life into preaching the gospel around the world for the next 60 years. I think he knew the secret of resting in the Lord. There’s no other way he could have lasted as long as he did. God restored him year in and year out as Billy came back to the living water.

Are you coming to the living water each day as you practice rest? Jesus proclaimed, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:38 NIV) And in the next verse, it is explained, “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”

If you have committed your life to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in you. He is the one who will restore you with the living water that will flow from within you.

Enjoy your practice of rest as you spend time with Jesus today.

(From my new devotional, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest, releasing in just a few days on Amazon).

October 12, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Jesus and Rest

Jesus and Rest

Jesus was fully God and fully man. And he chose to rest often. Reading through the Gospels, we see that rest was a habit of Jesus. He commonly practiced rest and prayer together, in all hours of the day or night. Let’s take a look.

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35 NIV)

“But the news about Jesus spread all the more, and great crowds came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.” (Luke 5:15-16 NIV)

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” (Luke 6:12 NIV)

In his time of deepest sorrow, learning that John the Baptist had been beheaded, Jesus got away from the crowds. “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.” (Matthew 14:13 NIV)

I don’t get the picture that Jesus ever hurried, even though he was in great demand. He showed up “late” for Lazarus, who died before Jesus came (John 11). The ruler’s daughter has also passed away prior to Jesus’ arrival (Mark 5). Jesus chastised Martha for scurrying around to serve him while, at the same time, applauded Mary for sitting and listening to him (Luke 10).

Jesus’ temperament wasn’t dictated by the sundial. Not only did he habitually take time to get away and pray, it became his way of living. That’s remarkable when you consider the constant pressure he lived with. I’m sure that before he started his public ministry, he had already lived rest for a couple decades. It was natural for him.

Jesus had good reason to skip rest. He was the Savior of the world. Yet, he did rest. He was intentional about it.

If Jesus rested, it should give you the assurance that you can rest, too. Remember, you aren’t the savior of the world. No matter how great the demand is on your life, it doesn’t come close to the demand Jesus lived with. And he rested.

Find your places of escape so you can rest. Have a spot to go at home and when you’re at work. If you have kids running around, your resting place may be in your car. You might need help from your spouse or a friend to watch the kids while you steal away. Jesus had to go to great lengths to be alone.

If we practice rest by getting away like Jesus did, we’ll develop a spirit of rest that stays with us day in and day out.

Where will you retreat to rest today?

(From my upcoming new devotional Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest).

October 1, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on God Rested

God Rested

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2 ESV)

God must have been exhausted after creating the universe, because he took a whole day off. I know that’s a ridiculous thought, but we can’t ignore the fact that God did rest. And he did it for a reason.

Rest was so important to God that, later on, he gave mankind the Sabbath for the purpose of rest.

God didn’t need rest, of course, but he created us to need rest. We’re reminded of that at the end of every day and at times during the day. As much as we think we’re independent, strong, capable and great, the daily need for rest puts us in our place. In bed!

Just last week someone reminded me that God gave his people the Sabbath not as a burden, but as a gift. In our world, we value work and achievement. The thought of setting aside a full day for rest is nearly incomprehensible. It doesn’t fit our lifestyle. Giving God just an hour or two to worship once a week is such a stretch that most “regular” churchgoers only attend two or three times a month.

This isn’t a devotional on the Sabbath. Entire books have been written on it. But we can’t ignore that rest is a huge priority to God and has been since creation. It should be to us.

I admit it’s a challenge to rest. It doesn’t come easy, even when we’re intentional about it.

I’ve learned in the early days of my 66-day challenge that it takes the first few minutes to settle my heart, soul and spirit. I can’t just go into “rest mode.” I slip into it as I sit calmly in solitude. You may find that to be true for you. When I get to the point where I feel I’m resting, it’s wonderful. It’s refreshing. It’s good.

The same person who shared with me about the Sabbath being a gift from God also pointed out a way to make sure rest becomes a priority. He called it the big rock principle. Drop a big rock into a jar. Then begin dropping in smaller rocks and they settle around the big one.

The big rock for our lives is rest. Make room for it first. The smaller rocks are all our activities and responsibilities. If you put the small rocks in first, there’s no room for the big rock. In fact, you can keep putting in small rocks and have a life that’s unlivable before long.

How will you build rest into your life? Begin thinking about it and ponder it for the next few days. Listen to God. Keep coming back to this concept. Let him carve a personal plan for you. It may fit your lifestyle — or you may have to make lifestyle changes.

I hope you’re taking the 10-minute 66-day challenge with me. That’s a start. A lifestyle of rest can grow out of that.

Here’s a reminder that will re-center you. Above all, your relationship with God is the most important thing in your life. Rest is good but Jesus is best. Don’t miss that as you’re on this journey of figuring out rest.

(From my upcoming book, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest, coming to Amazon this month).

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