RENEWAL. People take vacations for this. Every night’s rest is designed for this purpose. And quiet moments alone with God and His Word addresses this most basic need . . . renewal. We must take time and allow God to refresh us, our lives, our perspective and our spirit. It was established in the beginning when God rested on the seventh day after restructuring and repopulating the Earth. So why not model my Father with a little R&R (rest and relaxation) consistently.
So how do we begin? Go to sleep at night. Put on some music that is relaxing, melodic instrumental or ballad. Make yourself a cup of your favorite tea (I like peppermint and a chamomile at night), and let your thoughts slip away into the hands of God as you rest. Staying up doesn’t solve our problems, it simply drains our energy and tears down our immune system. Try taking a 30 minute nap in the middle of a random day. Set it up just like it’s nighttime but rest with the sunshine dancing your window if you like. Whatever, you choose, begin to practice calming down. And most importantly begin to collect scriptures about God’s nature, so that you can “know that you know” that He will answer your prayers.
I’m not saying become lazy in renewal, I’m saying after you have done the most effective work for the day and the week, then enter into renewal and rest and watch what God does with your life in the waking hours.
Does it still seem too hard, like you can’t quite feel it? Then there is one more tool that you need in order to cement your ability to effectively wait on God . . .
-MizJAI-
