Joshua 1:13
"Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, 'The Lord your God gives you rest, and will give you this land.'

It’s interesting isn’t it that the first thing on the Lord’s agenda is not to give you the land and all the provision, but the first thing He wants to give us is rest.  We think if I could just clean up all my problems, if I could just have enough provision, than I would be happy and be able to really rest. We all have lists of things that if we were able to resolve them we’re convinced that life would be so much better and I could really rest.

We don’t have to be in this thing for very long to recognize that is one of the enemies’ favorite lies. I suppose it’s his favorite because it works so well on us. I was meditating about this yesterday and it dawned on me how much time and energy is indeed spent on just trying to live problem free and pain free.  And the crazy thing is you get one field cleaned up and here comes another batch right behind it.  I’m not saying we should become passive about our problems and just lay down to whatever happens.  I am saying there is a walk with our Father that supersedes the temporal arena and allows you to enter into the eternal perspective for life. Where it’s possible to first enjoy His peace and rest even if I have a whole field full of problems that still exist. In fact His promise to Joshua was the Lord God would give you rest and then give you the land.  We have had it all backwards.

Before Jesus entered into His ministry before He did one miracle He was baptized in the Jordan River and the heavens opened and He heard these words “this is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”.  Think of it, the Father put His approval on Him before He did one thing and from that moment on He ministered out of rest not striving for anything but enjoying the rest and the peace that comes from knowing I am His Son He absolutely loves me and I have His full approval. Do you suppose that is what the Father wants to do with us? If we were able to genuinely know and believe that our Heavenly Father feels the same way about us would it change the way we perceive our life, and our priority system.

Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let us enter into our rest
Doug