Rest from Stress

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him."

Psalm 62:1

I providentially stumbled and gladly fell into this verse during my early morning focused time with God. Focused? Yes. I know where to go when I have a need. He always provides exactly what i need! 

Oh, what a beautiful Psalm this is and especially this verse reminding me to look to God first if I want rest from stress. Yep. I was getting caught up in treadmill life of our culture when God rescued my thought life with this comforting reminder. 

Some of us think we can control circumstances around us and we don't need to be seeking the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit when things get...."shaky."  The reason, I think, that we don't ask God for guidance in everything is because we're in a hurry to keep up with the competitive rat race of our culture.

Maybe? You know, we forget the Creator of the entire universe rules over every part of it. He is sovereign and sees all and knows all things. "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account" (Hebrews 4:13). 

So as a child of God, we already know this truth. And we also know He loves us unconditionally! "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1)

He forgives sins when we repent of them! "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us for all unrighteousness" (! John 1:9).

He tells us to "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things (needs) will be added as well" (Matthew 6:33).

So with all this love and all these faithful promises, why are we too busy to have a prayerful conversation with God -- so we can find rest for our weary, anxious souls? It's a choice we make: keeping up with the world or keeping up with our relationship with our Abba Father.

When my eyes read Psalm 62, the word "rest" jumped into my soul as a gift from God. He showed me how quickly I can find rest for my weary, anxious soul when I prayerfully turn my gaze to Him and the power of His Word. 

Just think of this, "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him" (Matthew 6:7-8). 

There is no one in the universe who has more love, more wisdom, and more power than our Father in heaven. And He "gave all authority in heaven and earth"  (Matthew 28:18) to His Beloved Son Jesus. And we belong to Him!

Look for a moment at this: "He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will never be shaken" (Psalm 62:2). It seems the only way for us not to be shaken in this world -- experiencing shaky circumstances -- is to believe He is our fortress because we belong to Him. Now and forever. That should be more than enough for us to live abundantly with hearts resting in Him, right?

💖Polly

Matthew 5:16