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“Trust Me and Enter into Rest without Worry”“What is rest?” the Lord asked my husband Randy and me. “It is abandoning the need to control. You both still need to learn that.
“Daughter, you control by telling people what to do. Randy controls by trying to do it all himself. The worries which incite you to control keep you from resting. Resting is not a matter of physical stillness; it is peace in the inmost being, which comes from trusting Me with all your circumstances.
“Can you see how learning to trust Me is necessary for rest? Randy has to trust me for others to do things to his standards. So do you. When you try to make everything happen your way, you have no rest. The worries which make you doubt other people multiply in your imagination as you think about all the things they might do wrong. Even when you curtail your activities, you find no rest when you worry.”
“I Told You to Rest”
“God doesn’t have formulas. He has a process for everyone.“ A few months earlier He told me, “I have told you to rest. It was not only to avoid physical pain but to relieve emotional stress. I challenge your thinking that says, ‘Unless I push, nothing happens.’ That makes you god of your own world. Even when you pray and acknowledge Me, it is all subordinate to your belief that you must bring everything to pass. Your back is bowed from the weight of taking My place.
“I’m not talking about planning and preparation. I’m talking about seeing yourself as the trail boss. Don’t shrink the room, I need to reveal Myself. Don’t compete with Me. Don’t take credit, even if you never tell anyone.
“It is the stress of being in charge of results that has caused you pain, carrying burdens I never intended for you. When you stop doing this, you will see a multitude of benefits. Pain will abate. Strength will return because you spend your energy wisely. Family relationships will improve. Personal fears will decline dramatically – peace and joy will take their place.
“Kiss your old life goodbye. You don’t need to let it hold you back with hidden resentments. You can no longer be the hero nor the victim.“
The Enemy of Rest is Worry
The Lord told Randy that he is self-reliant. Randy has said: “I’m the only one who knows how to do it right so I have to do it all myself.” Now at age 73, and with health challenges, I’m starting to understand rest.
Forty years ago, two strangers all the way from Florida visited me in Maryland to say the Lord sent them to tell me to rest. “What?” I argued with the Lord. “I can’t rest, I have too much to do for You and I’m the sole support of my three children.” (Photo via Unsplash)This month, when the Lord said He wanted us to write about rest, I protested again. “But we don’t have victory yet, at least I don’t.” We are sharing this message for all the hard-working saints who need to learn it along with us. The enemy of rest is worry.
The Lord told us, “I want you to prosper. To do so, you must be able to receive the answers to prayer. Worry will hold up answers to prayer faster than anything, even the devil. When you expect from the future, you can receive either of two things: answered prayer or anxiety. Answers to prayer sometimes require waiting, but you can have anxiety right away. Learning to wait develops character and glorifies Me. Worry puts you first and develops illness.
“Because the process of waiting makes what you receive sufficient, it is always satisfying. When you are anxious, nothing satisfies because whatever arrives is never enough. I want to give you better and more elaborate than you can imagine or hope for. The more patient you are, the quicker it will come. Waiting on Me extends your faith from a single situation to many aspects of your life. It builds you up to trust Me in everything.
“Anxiety spreads like gangrene, and soon, all areas of your existence are consumed with worry. That’s how anxiety nullifies your faith. Trusting Me is its own reward. Anxiety is its own punishment.”
Entering His Rest While Waiting
Hebrews 4:1 has always scared me. It says, “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.” I knew I was coming short. Chapter 11 tells us that by faith… Abel… Enoch… Noah… Abraham… Sarah… did enter His rest. God used them as examples, even though they were flawed.
“Resting is not a matter of physical stillness; it is peace in the inmost being, which comes from trusting Me with all your circumstances.” I continued to minister, dealing with sickness on and off for 16 years. This has made me doubt my faith. God healed me many times of smaller things, plus twice from the major one, but it always comes back.
I’ve been prayed for by hundreds. I’ve claimed every Scripture, declared every promise, taken every supplement and remedy that people have lovingly given me. One well-meaning friend rebuked me, saying God was not glorified by my sickness. It’s embarrassing to stand before a group when I am not well, but God has repeatedly told me to be “God-confident and not self-conscious.” He said self-consciousness is selfishness.
A Dream I had about healing: I realized I still wasn’t resting when I dreamed that I ran into a bank not to get money, but I had a form in my hand that I didn’t understand how to fill out. I wanted to know the form-ula. I got in line and waited for my turn, but the line kept changing and I would be at the end again. I kept running around trying to get help and left totally frustrated. The dream was about my healing – I just wanted to know the formula, get healed and get on with my life. God doesn’t have formulas. He has a process for everyone. He wants us to trust Him with all our hearts, not leaning on our own understanding or formulas.
One day the Lord sternly reminded me, “I told you I was going to heal you.” I guess it’s just the process of waiting.
“Now Will You Trust Me?”
I had three visions of myself as a five-year-old. I was in a swimming pool with pink water wings and Jesus was my lifeguard. He told me to lean back and rest in the water. “Trust Me, I won’t let anything happen to you.” In the second vision, I had a new pink bike with streamers on the handlebars and training wheels. Jesus was running beside me to make sure I was safe. In the third vision, He was pushing me on a swing in my fluffy pink dress. (Photo via Unsplash)As I related these visions to a friend, she brought out a print of Jesus holding the ropes of a swing with a little girl on the seat and the caption, “Now will you trust Me?” She said, “I guess this is yours.” As a kid, I had an old bike with no brakes and ran into a trash can to stop. I got hurt on the swing at school. Jesus was correcting my fears that there was no one to care for me. Why all the pink? Pink is the color of grace.
Progress in Your Process
Learning to rest is a process. The Lord said, “The real question is: are you making progress in your process? Pick one thing that you struggle with and make an effort to commit it to Me. Then, whenever you find yourself failing to do that, recommit it to Me with greater fervor. Gain one victory like that and the others will become simpler.
“Change the way you think in life-giving ways. It won’t work if you do it on a performance basis because it’s a lifestyle change. Think of it as changing your style to receive life – a lifestyle. You’re not at the mercy of your emotions; your emotions are subject to your righteousness. You are a righteous person. You can do this.”
Randy and Barbara Walter
Shiloh Ministries | Salisbury Revival Prayer Network
Email: shilohministries@comcast.net
Randy and Barbara Walter conduct Shiloh Ministries on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, emphasizing intercession and the prophetic, and facilitating seminars and workshops. They have interceded on-site and led prayer journeys at hundreds of locations through their Chesapeake Revival Prayer Network. The Lord has assigned them to pray for awakening, outpouring and cultural transformation. For 25 years, Randy edited a regional Christian newspaper called The Manna. Randy and Barbara have ministered together throughout their 34 years of marriage, and have just published their seventh book, Name Your Gates & Take Back Your Cities.
Source: Elijah List Publications
http://www.elijahlist.com
email: info@elijahlist.net
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