Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video of images and lyrics from the Vineyard group leading gin worship and singing … Resting Place … poignantly singing of resting in our Lord to gain His strength to cover our weakness.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Mark 6:31, 46 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus took His time to rest as well as exhorting His followers to do the same.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Mark 6:30-46 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
... Jesus exhorted His disciples to take time to rest; and even the God-Man took His time away from the crowds to be alone and rest with His Father in prayer.
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Reference Passage #1: … Isaiah 40:29-31 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Our refuge and strength is in The LORD.
Reference Passage #2 : … Matthew 11:28 [NLT] …
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. …”
… Our rest is in the One Who gives us His strength.
Reference Passage #3: … 2nd Corinthians 12:9 [NLT] …
9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
… Resting and trusting in the Lord brings us His empowering grace.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, David McCasland, used a sports reference to teach on our need to take our rest in The Lord. The ODB author wrote: The headline caught my eye: “Rest Days Important for Runners.” In Tommy Manning’s article, the former member of the U.S. Mountain Running Team emphasized a principle that dedicated athletes sometimes ignore—the body needs time to rest and rebuild after exercise. “Physiologically, the adaptations that occur as a result of training only happen during rest,” Manning wrote. “This means rest is as important as workouts.”
Ever been in a place where you felt you had almost no strength to go on? When a marathon runner gets toward the end of his/her 26+ mile trek, it is said the runner will “hit the wall,” with the body rebelling against the will to finish the race. Well, … recently I was experiencing severe hyper-fatigue symptoms; and I had multiple MDs diagnose that I was in the throws of a type of clinical depression. I was prescribed a medication, which helped; but I was also advised to begin shedding some of the most stress-producing elements in my life. So, I began saying “NO” to a number of the good things I was doing, … the biggest stressors in my life.
I also was led to add some rigor and discipline to my devotional life at the same time, praying more in the mornings and seeking to go deeper into God’s word than ever before. And the results have been significant, … even measurable. My blood sugars have come down (I’m diabetic). The bouts of hyper-fatigue have disappeared. And I’ve had some of the “sweetest” times with my Lord than ever before. As you may know, I have been coming here for years to be alone, resting in my Lord. And quite recently I’ve found more of His grace to give me strength than ever before.
I hope that any readers here with me today, especially those who’re dealing with depression or stress-related fatigue, can take in today’s linked song; and find the truth from the Scriptures above … that God can - and will - be your resting place. And He’s always there to provide us with His enabling/empowering grace to give us strength to cover our weakness.
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, … I come here today, Lord, … to rest in You and receive as much of Your grace as You can pour into my heart. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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