Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 NLT

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 NLT

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe. Psalms 4:8 NLT

I woke up around 4:00 am this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. I’m lying there thinking about what I have to do today; work on my two blogs, clean the house, take something out for dinner and… I can’t seem to slow my mind down. I also have a weekend trip of hiking and fun with my daughter coming up; what do I pack, flights and connections, and… You get the idea. Have you been there?

After about 20 to 30 minutes of my mind going around and back and forth and still not slowing, I decided to just close my eyes and rest and hopefully go back to sleep. Needless to say – didn’t work. I finally did what I should have done over 30 minutes ago, I went to the Lord. I lamented my lack of sleep and tiredness. I recalled verses on rest and sleep and peace. And then I asked God for His promised peace and rest. And as my mind settled and my focus was on the Lord, I felt His peace and I finally rested in His presence. Thank You, Lord!

How many times do we try to do things on our own before we finally go to God when we have failed? When worries and cares of this world weigh us down, let’s grab hold of His promises; to be with us always, to share our burdens and give us rest. Let us thank Him for the difficult times and His safe refuge.

This week, rest in peace in the Lord our God. Go to Him with your laments, your worries, your restlessness, your weaknesses, and even your doubts. And accept His grace, His mercy, His rest, His peace that passes our understanding, and His everlasting and loving presence.

I thank God for each of you!! And I thank you for joining me this week as we rest in the peace of the Lord our God and lean on His promises.

Blessings and peace as you rest in the Lord!