We all need rest!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV))

I want to start off by saying thank you to all that have supported this ministry.

With that said, we all need rest. We need time to get away from the world and slow down and enjoy what God has created. We all need to spend time refreshing and strengthening our relationships whether these relationships are between a married couple or between yourself and Jesus. We need to take the time to recharge our batteries so that we can face the things that this world throws at us. Lately, I have seen far more than I could ever imagine being thrown at the Body of Christ. I feel a heaviness in my spirit. I need rest.

I have been blessed with a lovely lady as my wife for twenty-five years. I have been blessed with a family that loves the Lord. I have been blessed by God in so many ways. One blessing that I never imagined happening is my sharing of God’s Word through this devotional ministry. I may not have riches as the world thinks of riches, but I am rich in ways that the world can’t imagine.

There is a spiritual war that is unfolding. It is spilling over into the physical world. We all need to rest in Jesus so that we may be prepared for what is coming. Take the time to slow down and spend time with God. Listen for the Holy Spirit. Follow the words of Jesus. Spend time with God.

“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
(Psalms 46:10 (NIV))

I love the first line of this passage. Many people use it and ignore the next two lines, but today, I feel that the last two lines of this passage need to be used and heard. We are to be still and listen to God. This gives us insight into His heart and His desires. Many people, and I probably have been guilty of this, use the first line of this passage to show what you need to do to get to know God without stressing the last two lines, which tell us why we need to know God.

The world is falling apart and many people believe that we are in the End Times. We are to know God so that we may tell a fallen, sinful world about salvation and grace. We are to exalt God and tell of His plan for redeeming each of us. God is to be exalted so that others may see Him and what He offers to those who will simply ask.

Sometimes we need to reset our priorities. Sometimes we need to spend time in our relationships. Sometimes we need to listen more than we talk. Sometimes we need to rest so that we may be better prepared to continue.

See you in a week.

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Rest!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV))

This world piles burden upon burden on us in our daily lives. Our jobs, our obligations, our financial needs, and sometimes even our families and our church become burdens. We must step back and focus on the words of Jesus.

Rest! Everyone desires it, but in this world, true rest cannot come. Rest only comes when one is at peace. Peace is a concept that the world wants but can not grant. True peace only comes from the source of all creation through His Son Jesus Christ. Trade burdens with Jesus and gain peace and rest.

The burden that Jesus bore has paid in full your burden of sin and death. Whatever you are carrying now, He carried to the cross almost two thousand years ago. Give Him your burdens and He will give you rest.

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Turn to Jesus for the peace that passes understanding

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28 (NIV))

No matter how tired I may get in my physical body, Jesus will give my soul rest. No matter how tired I may get in my mind due to stress that the world sends my way, Jesus will give my soul rest. Once my soul is at rest, then the weariness of the mind and body will also be put to rest.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
(John 10:10 (NIV))

We can’t have life to the full if we are weary and burdened. It is a matter of priorities.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21 (NIV))

If you turn to Jesus as your treasure, He will give you rest. He will take our burdens and help you make it through them. He will give you the strength and the hope to believe that things will get better. Even when you must face the burdens of this world, He will be with you. He will give you peace in the midst of the trouble.

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 (NIV))

He will give you rest.

Are you still weary and burdened? Turn to Jesus for the peace that passes understanding.

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you willing to listen to God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
(Isaiah 50:4 (NIV))

What can sustain the weary?

Think about that question.

What makes you weary? Is it the world? Is it your job? Is it relationships that you wish were different? Is it the state of the world with all of the trials and tribulations that we must face? What sustains you in the midst of these trials and tribulations? What sustains you when you feel that you cannot go on?

Isaiah was given words to say to people who were weary. God gave him words of hope to speak to the people of Israel. Many of the prophesies regarding the coming of Jesus were spoken through Isaiah. What made Isaiah different from all of the people around him? Why was he able to hear God when the others did not? Perhaps we are given a clue as to Isaiah’s abilities in the remaining lines of the passage. God awoke Isaiah every morning and taught him. God spoke to Isaiah because Isaiah was willing to listen. What made Isaiah willing to listen?

What makes you willing to listen to someone? I believe that there are two primary reasons someone willingly listens to someone else. They love the person speaking, or they are interested in the topic. In Isaiah, I believe that we have found both. He loved the Lord and, because of this love, he also was very interested in what God had to say. He listened because he longed for God’s truth. This, alone, is enough to sustain the weary. Simply listening to God and taking his Word to heart is sufficient to sustain even the most weary of individuals.

Are you weary? Do you listen to God? Do you embrace every word that He has given us?

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
(Matthew 11:28 (NIV))

Have you found rest?

Are you willing to listen to God?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Burdens

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

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))

What burdens do you carry?

Everybody has burdens that they must carry, for life is not burden free. Each of us face our own combination of things that Satan uses to weight us down and to keep us from God. These may be financial issues, health issues, personal issues, family issues, or a myriad number of other things. Regardless of what they may be, we all face times when we must carry a burden or two. Unfortunately, it is human nature to think that we are alone in what we face. Because of this, our burdens soon become more than we can bear.

Do your burdens leave you weary? Are your burdens too much for you to bear?

We, as believers, know that there is a hope for us. We do not have to carry our burdens alone. We have the hope that is Jesus. Jesus came to give us grace. He came to give us mercy. He came to give us hope. We do not have to face the burdens of this world alone. We have someone who is closer than a brother to help us through our times of trouble and burden. We have Jesus. All we have to do is allow Him to be our personal Lord and Savior. In exchange, He will give us rest from our burdens?

Do you allow Jesus to give you rest?

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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