Rest in God - The Crosswalk Devotional - September 10

Rest in God
By: Alexis A. Goring

Bible Reading:
“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.” - Psalm 4:8 NLT

One night as I was preparing to go to bed, my mind was too troubled to sleep. 

So, I turned to prayer. I asked God to remind me how real He is and within seconds of that prayer request spoken directly to God, He brought a song to my mind with lyrics I hadn’t listened to in years. “I Will Rest in You” sung by Jaci Velasquez ministered to me and gave me great hope.

The song lyrics begin by painting the picture of a person feeling like they are surrounded by darkness and deep in despair. They feel like their world is caving in. The person begins to seek God by being honest about what they are experiencing. 

They tell God that their mind is playing games yet again, but deep inside, they know that God is right there in the dark with them and He’s never abandoned them. Realizing the hope in this, they ask God to bring them back to the safe place they remember having with Him when they were growing up in their faith walk with Jesus Christ. A place where they knew God’s personal care intimately. They desire to return to the safe haven that they knew so well in their childhood. In those days, it felt like they could free-fall into God’s open arms and be covered by His all-surrounding protection. They want to rest in God.

There are so many takeaways that one can glean from this song. Let’s focus on a few:

Takeaway #1: God has never and will never abandon you (Hebrews 13:5). Sometimes, we may feel like God has left us to face life alone but that is not true because the Bible says He will be with us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

Takeaway #2: God encourages us to be honest with Him. He can handle the depths of our pain, especially when we are feeling despair. Nothing is hidden from Him (Hebrews 4:13). He knows our thoughts before they form in our mind. Given this truth, we may as well tell Him everything that’s weighing heavy on our heart (Psalm 62:8). He waits patiently for us to come to Him just as we are and cast our burdens on Him (Matthew 11:28-29).

Takeaway #3: God is our safe place. Period. No matter how unsafe our world may feel and no matter where we live on this Earth, we can go to God for safety. His Presence is fully accessible to us everywhere on this planet. He knows all and sees all (Proverbs 5:21). The Bible says nothing can separate us from His Love (Romans 8:35-39). When we feel scared and hopeless and like the sky is falling, we should seek God. And we don’t have to look far to find Him. He’s closer than we think and always just a prayer away.

Takeaway #4: God wants us to rest in Him. How do we rest in God? Good question. I believe we can rest in God by first letting our guard down and opening up to Him about how we’re feeling and sharing our heavy load with Him. Then we can ask Him to ease our anxiety and lift us up out of the pit of despair. The Bible says to cast our cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7) and trust Him because His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Finally, as He soothes us, we can rest in His care and go to sleep in peace every night knowing that He never sleeps (Psalm 121:4). This means He’s effectively handling everything we’re stressing out over. The Bible says God works everything out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). 

My personal experience has been that when I need God, He always shows up. He either draws me close to Him through my Bible study and prayer time (James 4:8) or He sends someone who loves Him to help me through whatever is troubling me. Oftentimes that comes in the form of another Christian who prays for me. Earlier this year when I was going through something difficult, a Christian friend of mine prayed over me in a way that sounded like she was very close to God and that she was praying from the depths of her heart for me. It was a gift that reminded me how much God cares about everything we care about and how He sends His people to cover us in prayer. I am grateful.

If you don’t know God and haven’t accepted His Son (Jesus Christ) to be your Lord and Savior, it’s not too late because you can do that today. And when you do then you can rest in Him, trusting that He’ll always cover you and be there for you even when nobody else can. Go to God before you go to people. Ask Him for what you need then trust Him to provide it. God loves you with all His Heart. He wants you to trust Him just like a child trusts Him as their Heavenly Father.

Intersecting Faith & Life:

Next time you feel like the sky is falling, will you turn to God and rest in Him?

Further Reading:
John 14:27
Isaiah 26:3
Psalm 23:1-3
Psalm 56:3-4
Psalm 62:1

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Daniel de la Hoz 

Alexis A. Goring is an author, blogger, editor, photographer, trained journalist, and total foodie. She specializes in Contemporary Christian Romance (fiction) and devotionals (nonfiction). Her first devotional book, Stories and Songs of Faith: My Journey with God, was published in April 2020. Alexis hopes that her life’s work will lead people to Jesus Christ and teach them about the God who loves humankind with all of His heart. When she’s not sharing words that inspire and encourage the heart, you can find her in the kitchen cooking up something tasty, or in a café or restaurant, either dining solo or sharing a meal with loved ones. Connect with Alexis online via her website (https://alexisagoring.jimdofree.com), Twitter (@pennedbyalex) and Instagram (@capturing_the_idea).

Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com! 

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