Rest...A position of strength that comes from knowledge

To wait upon the Lord…to rest in the Lord. Only when you wait upon the Lord and rest in Him is your strength renewed. Rest depends upon having knowledge of the Lord, knowledge of His character, and His promises. “Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). We are told to be anxious for nothing but instead pray, ask, and praise knowing the prayer has been heard and answered (Philippians 4:6; 1 John 5:14,15). Answered prayer is not necessarily experiencing or seeing a result immediately but receiving the answer by faith; “faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses” (Hebrews 11:1 Amplified). The answer is taken by faith because you believe the Word of God, and the result of knowing the prayer is answered is peace (Philippians 4:7). Scripture confirms that God is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). He is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19). This should cause rest and a belief that you will “see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:14) which is based on knowledge according to His Word.

By God’s Word, you learn that your victory has been established by Jesus’ finished work of the cross. This finished work confirms why the battle belongs to the Lord. It confirms why you may be at rest in the promises that have been fulfilled in Jesus. You do not need to fight, strive, or lean to your own understanding to figure things out. As children of God, we rest and believe in what Jesus has done. At rest in the security of the Lord, you stand resolute on the promises and Jesus’ finished work. There is no need to be dismayed by situations witnessed or experienced that seem contrary to God’s Word. This is not unexpected as we live in a fallen world. However, by Jesus, you have been prepared for the moment. You are infused with inner strength from God to rest in Him. This resting place is your position of battle during adversity. You have been strengthened to receive from your Father and not turn outward to self-striving or giving up. You are strengthened when you renew your mind to His promises, which causes you to be well-balanced on a firm and everlasting foundation of truth. There you trust His loving arms to hold you and His shield of favor to protect you. This is a resting place of trust that frees you from all doubt, fear, worry, and anxiety. This is you positioning yourself confidently within His hold because you have knowledge of His truth. He is faithful to His Word and to His promises. Not a single Word returns void to Him without fulfilling its purpose (Isaiah 55:11). His presence within your spirit empowering and strengthening you, should boost your confidence and cause you to rest and be at peace. Peace is an accomplishment of the finished work of Jesus; it is Jesus Himself Who resides in you! Peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit at work in you.

If peace seems elusive to you, ask yourself whose strength you are relying on, yours or His. To rely on your strength is exhausting and is usually accompanied by worry, anxiety, fear, frustration, and perhaps the feeling that you want to give up. This struggle is not a resting place of peace in the Lord. In Christ, you know provision and abundance. In Him, you are confident of the victory that He has established for you. You fight from victory and you fight from rest, from Peace Himself. You fight praising. Praise does not mean that everything is in perfect order as you would like it to be in this natural world, but that doesn’t matter because you are being strengthened to rest in Jesus during any circumstance. You are standing on His promises. Your benefit from Him is freedom from all fear, anxiety, frustration, and worries; a sense of hopefulness rises. You are strengthened to rest by the Greater One Who lives in you.

Old Testament Scripture confirms a story of individuals who lived these experiences. Confronted with threatening circumstances of life, they turned their attention to the Lord. They understood in “His hand was power and might, so that none was able to withstand Him” (2 Chronicles 20:6). By knowledge of His greatness and promises, they knew He heard them (2 Chronicles 20:9). The situation they faced seemed fierce, intimidating, and easily could have caused dread, especially knowing they had no might against their adversary (2 Chronicles 20:12). This was not a situation to experience rest and peace. Just like them, you must recognize that you are not alone. You are not a mere human being, but a child of God filled with His power and might. Keeping your gaze on Him will cause you to magnify His greatness and not look at your weakness. It will cause you to trust the One Who is greater than you. This is the place of rest and peace. This is when you can say, “I will not be afraid or dismayed” at this great challenge, “for the battle is not mine but God’s” (2 Chronicle 20:15). Allowing His strength to empower you with confident peace because you know His Word and believe, causes rest. You don’t have the power or might to fight, but He does, and He has already won; He will enforce His victory! Jesus has already defeated the enemy, which confirms no power can come against the Lord.

As you believe, you are established in rest; you are established in confident trust (2 Chronicles 20:20). “Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established; believe and remain steadfast” to His Word “and you shall prosper” (2 Chronicles 20:20). Believing in the Lord means you are established on His promises. Established in truth you rest and experience peace. “Blessed is the” one “who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told to her/him from the Lord” (Luke 1:45). Therefore, you praise Almighty God for His gracious and wonderful gift of His love which includes strengthening and provision. Before you see it, you praise Him, knowing by His Word what is true. He is asking you to stand, which means He is telling you to rest right where you are, no matter the circumstance. “… take your position, stand still, and see the deliverance of the Lord (Who) is with you…Fear not nor be dismayed” (2 Chronicles 20:17).