God Works When Man Rests
We continue the series , “Enter into God’s rest” where Jesus offers a godly peace in Matthew 11.28-30, ““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
There might be delays caused in our life by Satan as we saw in John 6 but all delays are not brought about by Satan. God has an appointed time for everything.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens”
Daniel prayed to God and he received an answer immediately, but he only received the promise 21 days later. In the heavenly realm, demonic forces stopped the Archangel Michael who was bringing the answer from God which brought this delay.
In John 6:20 -21 But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and at once the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
Here when the disciples were struggling amidst the winds and storms, Jesus came and they reached the shore immediately.
Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
The disciples were afraid when they saw the storm because they forgot His promise and they forgot that Jesus was with them. These are two mistakes we should not make. Our faith and belief should be deep rooted so we remain steadfast!
In Mark 4. 35-41,the disciples tried hard and laboured to row the boat to reach land.
Throughout this time, Jesus was sleeping. Once they stopped trying and gave up control, Jesus awoke and acted. When we try to control things around us and labour to make things our way, Jesus stays silent. When we do not let go and control things, Jesus rests and this will mess up our situation.
The disciples’ journey from one shore to the other shows our life journey from birth to death. We sink when we live without God. We must give God control of our lives!
Anything we try to do on our own will fail. Never forget the Tower of Babel (its construction and destruction) when people tried to reach the heavens without God! But when Jesus takes control, we can rest! Once Jesus awoke on the boat, the disciples became free and they stopped rowing. God works when man rests .i.e. When we work God rests.
We use the term ‘rest in peace’ to refer to the time after passing away. However, in the parable of the rich man and Lazar, we see that torment begins after death and there is no rest then! We should rest in Jesus, and we should do it now and not after death! When we rest, we are trusting God. We leave our worries and cares with God and that is how we can rest in the Lord.
Psalm 127:1-2 “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves ( or he provides while they sleep)”
If God is not building with us, we are working in vain and our efforts go to waste. God is the giver of sound sleep and He provides while we sleep .i.e He does great things for us when we rest in Him. We might wake up early or stay up late, but it will only pay off if God is building with us. Wealth is God’s favour and there is no trouble attached to it. God is a hard worker as Jesus said that as his Father is working so is he. Jesus is always working. So this does not mean we should not work hard, but it means that we should trust in God and surrender to Him along with it. Rest and peace comes to those who trust in God.
It is when man sleeps/ rests that God works. A few examples to understand this principle:
Genesis 2:21-22 “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.”
God first created one man. God did not find any helpers among the animals He had created. Later, when this man had no suitable helper (life partner), God put him to sleep and created one for him from his own rib.
We see another example in Genesis 15:12, 17-18, 20-21
Here we read of the covenant God makes with Abraham. God steps in when Abraham is sleeping. He then promises a generational covenant to Abraham while he is resting!
God works when man rests, so trust in Him and surrender!
There might be delays caused in our life by Satan as we saw in John 6 but all delays are not brought about by Satan. God has an appointed time for everything.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens”
Daniel prayed to God and he received an answer immediately, but he only received the promise 21 days later. In the heavenly realm, demonic forces stopped the Archangel Michael who was bringing the answer from God which brought this delay.
In John 6:20 -21 But Jesus spoke up: “It is I; do not be afraid.” Then they were willing to take Him into the boat, and at once the boat reached the shore where they were heading.
Here when the disciples were struggling amidst the winds and storms, Jesus came and they reached the shore immediately.
Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
The disciples were afraid when they saw the storm because they forgot His promise and they forgot that Jesus was with them. These are two mistakes we should not make. Our faith and belief should be deep rooted so we remain steadfast!
In Mark 4. 35-41,the disciples tried hard and laboured to row the boat to reach land.
Throughout this time, Jesus was sleeping. Once they stopped trying and gave up control, Jesus awoke and acted. When we try to control things around us and labour to make things our way, Jesus stays silent. When we do not let go and control things, Jesus rests and this will mess up our situation.
The disciples’ journey from one shore to the other shows our life journey from birth to death. We sink when we live without God. We must give God control of our lives!
Anything we try to do on our own will fail. Never forget the Tower of Babel (its construction and destruction) when people tried to reach the heavens without God! But when Jesus takes control, we can rest! Once Jesus awoke on the boat, the disciples became free and they stopped rowing. God works when man rests .i.e. When we work God rests.
We use the term ‘rest in peace’ to refer to the time after passing away. However, in the parable of the rich man and Lazar, we see that torment begins after death and there is no rest then! We should rest in Jesus, and we should do it now and not after death! When we rest, we are trusting God. We leave our worries and cares with God and that is how we can rest in the Lord.
Psalm 127:1-2 “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves ( or he provides while they sleep)”
If God is not building with us, we are working in vain and our efforts go to waste. God is the giver of sound sleep and He provides while we sleep .i.e He does great things for us when we rest in Him. We might wake up early or stay up late, but it will only pay off if God is building with us. Wealth is God’s favour and there is no trouble attached to it. God is a hard worker as Jesus said that as his Father is working so is he. Jesus is always working. So this does not mean we should not work hard, but it means that we should trust in God and surrender to Him along with it. Rest and peace comes to those who trust in God.
It is when man sleeps/ rests that God works. A few examples to understand this principle:
Genesis 2:21-22 “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.”
God first created one man. God did not find any helpers among the animals He had created. Later, when this man had no suitable helper (life partner), God put him to sleep and created one for him from his own rib.
We see another example in Genesis 15:12, 17-18, 20-21
Here we read of the covenant God makes with Abraham. God steps in when Abraham is sleeping. He then promises a generational covenant to Abraham while he is resting!
God works when man rests, so trust in Him and surrender!
About the Author
Dr. Damien Antony
Born and brought up in a Christian family, Dr. Damien Antony possessed an unquenching quest for truth right from his boyhood days and eventually his relentless search led him to the Bible. He is a Revival Preacher, Bible Teacher, Leadership Trainer, Author and a Life Coach. He moves under the anointing for Prophetic, Healing, Deliverance, Inner Healing and Financial Breakthrough. God has also blessed him with an Apostolic Mandate to take the Universal Body of Christ to the next level of revelation and anointing.
Born and brought up in a Christian family, Dr. Damien Antony possessed an unquenching quest for truth right from his boyhood days and eventually his relentless search led him to the Bible. He is a Revival Preacher, Bible Teacher, Leadership Trainer, Author and a Life Coach. He moves under the anointing for Prophetic, Healing, Deliverance, Inner Healing and Financial Breakthrough. God has also blessed him with an Apostolic Mandate to take the Universal Body of Christ to the next level of revelation and anointing.
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