~ Blog ~
Inspiring writings from the heart. How God speaks to me and reveals His great love through nature, daily encounters, and what I call "God Winks". :)
How to Find True Rest
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. "
~ Matthew 11:28-30 ~
For years I would read the above scripture over and over, but was never able to quite grasp it enough to where I actually was walking "in it" so to speak. I found myself saying the words outloud, but could not experience the burden lifting, that at the time was weighing me down so heavily. Today I am here to encourage you that if this has been your experience, you too can discover how to become an overcomer and rise above any burden that may have wearied your soul and begin to walk in His righteousness and victory by your renewed faith and understanding.
In Mathew 11, the part that struck me so profoundly which had not before is when Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me..." Those three words "learn from me" began to resonate on a deeper level. I never paid enough attention to them in the past. And if we go to 1 John 5:1, we read,"Whovever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him."...then in 1 John 5:4 we read, "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith." What a powerful statement that in the past years of my spiritual growth never quite struck me as it has in the last year and a half where my faith began to take on new life.
Let's go even further, in John 16:33, Jesus speaks, "These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." For many years I struggled with reading that specific part of this scripture, "In the world you will have tribulation..." oh the pain of hearing "you will", not maybe or possibly, but you will! My flesh didn't like that part at all. And when our faith has not quite matured enough for us to totally grasp how to rise above circumstances, we flounder, fail, and stay stuck in our heavy-laden burdens. Our focus is in the wrong place. Once I realized that trouble will come and trouble will go, I was able to learn how to operate from what scripture tells me. I believe the word of God is truth and I needed to actually walk in it, own it. It bacame a game changer. And reflecting back on my troubles, I was made completely aware of how the Lord had always provided for all my needs. This is where we can learn to overcome and let go and fully trust.
Often, we tend to take on old belief systems from our life experiences as far back as childhood. Many times we adopt false beliefs in our subconscious mind based on things we have experienced or from words our parents may have repeated over and over, not fully realizing how much they have affected our way of responding to difficulties in life and shaped our own beliefs. But, when we become a new creation in and through Christ, the old has died and the new creation is born, we begin to walk in a new life, and "the Christ within us" gives us the power and authority to overcome our flesh-based behaviors. We can break off the "old thinking patterns" and gain new ground and a new belief system based on God's word and not the old adopted false beliefs that have kept us stuck.
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away; behold the new has come."
~ 2 Corinthians 5:17 ~
So, back to John 16:33, when we are walking in the new creation of ourselves with Christ at our center, we take on a renewed understanding of what Christ meant when he states "I have overcome the world" and if He did this, we can do this too! Heaviness can be lifted from our souls and we rise above our troubles with a Christ-like mindset, and we become bearers of Matthew 11:28-30. Hallelujah!
Resistance: an imposing or impeding force.
Many times the thing that anchors us to the world and a lower vibration is resistance. Ever since I began writing out affirmations and speaking them daily, I began to feel a shift. I have a post-it on my desk I placed there about a year ago and it says, Fearless Faith/Non-Resistance/Love. Daily I speak it and try to operate from this new belief and I find myself living by the Law of Grace. It provides freedom and a lifting of the heaviness that life's curveballs, issues, and challenges can throw at me. I also began to witness a huge shift in my attitude toward everything. When I operate from a place of gratitude and put God first, and speak His word over everything, I am more aware of how I choose to respond to anything. It is learning how to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh and most importantly, my tongue is guarded by what I speak. (The power of the tongue is a blog topic for later!) Jesus wants us to embrace the fact that in His message and through Him, we have the ability to live an abundant life and rise above our challenges and become problem solving spirit-filled conquerors instead of weary heavy-laden souls trapped in and by the world's issues. We truly become overcomers! I choose His way!
An abundant life is available once we can detach from the old self, old beliefs, and anchor ourselves in Him. He Is the answer to everything life throws at us, we just need to discover this new way of living, embrace all He has for us, and walk in true victory. It is there for the taking, will you grab hold of it?
I hope this encourages you to seek Him more diligently and to soak in His word more effectively and to embrace ALL that He desires for you. An abundant life IS possible and is yours for the taking, His word speaks of it and it IS a gift from Him... And if you do not know Him, ask Him to come into your heart and He will show you the way. I pray this message brings you hope and a fresh approach to living your best life with Christ fully living in you!
Be blessed and be a blessing!
Diane
Encouraging scriptures to take hold of;
"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." ~ 2 Corinthians 9:8
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us." ~ Ephesians 3:20
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." ~ Romans 15:13
