A Restful Place

If you read the previous blog you heard me talk about my own personal struggles when it comes to some situations in my life. This is for those like me that are learning that God’s grace is sufficient and I tend to think that’s a lot of us. I know that many of us just want to find a place of rest. Everyone wants a place they can go and just get away from it all. Some of us do that with hiking or fishing and others just a long bath. A friend of mine has his own place of rest he like to call his “Man Room”. The man room is a small building right behind his house that probably was once a workshop. Much like the original owner the “Man Room” has been a place where my friend and he predecessor went to get away, their own private oasis that they can escape the troubles of the day from. We need to know that God has a place for us to come and go and rest and leave all the troubles of the world behind. The best thing is it is always open and always available if you choose to take advantage of it. The question you maybe asking your self is how do I get in? That is question is good, but I told you it is always open so let’s ponder what keeps you out of God’s restful place
There are three things that generally keep us out of God’s restful place. The first is Not being sincere or lack of reverence for God. If you look at Exodus 3:45, Exodus 26:30-34 and Luke 23:45-44. The first verse in Exodus speaks to God speaking to Moses through the burning bush. If you remember the account Moses was tending his heard we came across a bush on fire but not being consumed Then he heard the voice of the Lord call out to him, telling him to remove his shoes because he was on holy ground. That’s how we need to come to God if we intend to enter his place of rest with reverence and sincerity. When you pray do you pray as if you’re praying to the Master of the Universe. The God who spoke the world into existence? Yes God allows you to speak to him the best way you know how and the best prayers sometimes don’t
have many words, but let God know that he is “The Great I am”. When you talk to God be sure that you do it from a sincere heart. Because he knows your heart and knows when you’re just going through the motions and when you are serious about what you’re saying. So keep that in your thoughts.
The second thing that keeps us from God’s place of rest is schemes of the enemy. Now I know a lot of you might think that the Devil does not exist, but have you ever noticed that when you take a step towards God and a step towards the right thing how much things start to get shaken up in your life. That is the goal of the enemy to keep you from tapping into the Power of God. He looks to keep you from that rest you seek. I can remember at my most depressed and down. I wouldn’t want to go to church or be around my church members. I locked myself away from the world. I come to realize that in those moments is when I really needed to be in church and around my church family. They have helped me through a lot of my issues. Sometimes we let these things keep us from gaining what God is trying to offer us. We could have rest but we need to do like what is said in Ephesians 6:10-11 that we need to put on the whole armor of God. Because with him he can help us overcome the enemy.
The last and final thing that keeps us from that place of rest is we come to God half-hearted and don’t follow it through to the end. Matthew 7:7-8 Speak directly to that. We need to seek God’s rest with
a relentless spirit. We can’t come to him half-hearted and expect peace we need to chase that peace as if our life depended on it. I recalled the day I made it to Ebenezer. The night before I was so caught up in my situation I was tired run down and beat up. I woke that Sunday morning with a fire burning in me. I knew that I needed God’s rest and I searched the Internet and set off on an hour and half journey just to make it church that morning. Nothing was going to keep me away from God that day. That’s the same fire we all need when it
come to our rest.
I know that many of us long for a little corner of the earth that they can journey to get away from it all. We all want a “Man Room” of our own. We have that, with God. We just have to not let anything or you keep us from it. I know life bring things on us that we don’t see coming, but as it says in Romans 8:31 if God is for us who can be against us.