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Do you need “REST” are you “TIRED”?
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Matthew 11:28 says
“Come to me, all who are weary & burdened, & I will give you rest.”
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If you read this verse as a letter from God to you, it would read like this:
“Come to me. You are weary & burdened. I will help you rest.”
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The only thing hindering us from resting is us.
R-E-S-T : Rest is what we ask for, long for, dream of; but most of the time we never truly rest. We may sit for awhile, but our muscles are still tense, our hearts heavy, and minds running around.
R-E-S-I-S-T: Resist is what we mainly do, especially if it means we have to sit down. Children resist naps and bedtimes everyday, every hour, every second of the day. They hate to sit down and take a nap even if their eyes are heavy- they fight each moment of “rest.”
Just like toddlers, we are Gods children. And like children we “resist” Gods “Rest”. We fight our sleep and throw a fit. We want rest but we don’t want to set down and take a break like God tells us we so desperately need. Just as a mother would try to explain to her child that they need their nap, they do not understand and fit it anyways. We too do not understand at times that we need a “nap time” and a break just sitting with God.
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When Rest & Resist are looked at the only letter that’s different between them is the ( I ) . I, myself, & whom ever reading this:
I must put myself aside and let God give me rest . I cannot give myself rest. I cannot lift these burdens. I cannot fix my own broken heart. I cannot see tomorrow. So if we stop resisting- and take out the ( I ), God will step in and give us the rest- we asked for.
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With that being said, I want to talk to you about a small person in the Bible I read about that most of the time gets over looked. This man is found in Judges 3:31 & his name is Shamgar.
” After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; & he also delivered Israel.” Judges 3:31
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t know about this guy. Who is he? Why is this mentioned and what does this guy have to do with “rest in God”.
As I was reading my devotional this morning (Embraced by Lysa Terkeurst), this verse was talked about. I opened my bible and sure enough- there was Shamgar. A small sliver in the Bible. Nothing huge, nothing more said.
Shamgar was a farmer. He wasn’t a mighty warrior, yet he was mentioned in the Bible & without him, At the time Israel would have fallen from what I understand. Shamgar also wasn’t a person who probably treated right in his lifetime. He was half Gentile and half Jew. His name is also Canaanite and not Hebrew, but that didn’t stop God from using him.
There isn’t anything “great” about Shamgar. He is an ordinary
Hard working guy just tending to his Cows or sheep, but what got to me isn’t what is written in the pages of the Bible-but what God showed me through this small verse.
In the world there will be “big” names that pass through. You may feel overwhelmed, overlooked, and overworked often in life. We take on burdens that we are not designed for and we run ourselves ragged. Shamgar probably did that as well. There was a war near his home, you don’t think he was scared from time to time? Stressed out? Worried? He was human, but Shamgar let God use him. He stopped “Resisting” and “Rested” in the fact that God is God and he can and will carry him- even through a war.
So picture this:
Shamgar (the farmer) just out and about doing his daily chores. Feeding cows, tending to the house work, etc and 600 Philistine soldiers surrounded your place…. I would probably panic, but Shamgar prepared for that day. Yet he fought all of them with an “ox goad” or other words “cattle prod”.
Shamgar defeated, 600 soldiers who came with swords – but he won with a cattle prod? Talk about trusting God! You see all of their weapons had been taken away so Shamgar took his cattle prod and sharpened it like God told him too.
Shamgar probably didn’t think what he was doing was very important or interesting, especially because he was a “nobody” to the world – so he thought. God sees us, even if we are tending to our farms, tending to our housework, tending to children, or anything your doing. He is preparing you daily for a battle you may have to fight with a cattle prod….
Shamgar also delivered Israel that day. He saved the day! A small battle- one man verses 600 delivered Israel.
This small verse is a reminder of what God can do. Spiritual you maybe surrounded by 600 things that are trying to defeat you and you do not think you have any weapons to defeat them, but you do… If Shamgar can use a cattle prod & Hod can use that to deliver a nation; he can defeat anything your coming up against. You have to stop “resisting” his “rest” and step aside for this to work. If Shamgar would have resisted God’s rest he may have been killed. Rest is crucial in life, but if your not getting rest from God- you too may be defeated spiritual & even physically.
You may think your a “nobody”, but God sees you. You may not leave a huge mark on this world, but even the tiniest footprint leaves a big impact. Stop resisting and start resting.
Thank you & have a wonderful day,
Marli
Angel Mom to Rhett Alec
Just Being Marli 