He Has You

The secret of getting rest for your souls is coming to the One who can give it to you. Jesus knows how much you worry and how hard you are working to get done everything you have before you. Jesus understands your frustrations and knows your every anxious thought. And He says to you, “Come to Me.”

The heaviest thing known to man is a single anxious thought. Set it down at the feet of Jesus. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29 CJB).

As Christians, more of us are willing to work for the Lord than we are to rest in the Lord. We will serve Him before we surrender to Him. This is because it is our flesh that wants to work, but it will be by the Spirit of God that we will be able to rest.

Many will strive for the Lord, but only some learn to rest in the Lord. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass” (Psalm 37:7 NKJV).

Whenever you find yourself filled with stress, you can be sure that you are not filled with the Spirit of God racing through your soul. If you want to stress less, you must trust in Him more and simply take everything you are worrying about and lay it down at the feet of Jesus.

It’s not enough to take it to the Lord, you have to let it go. “Pour out all your worries and stress upon him and leave them there, for he always tenderly cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 TPT).

We worry more about our circumstances when we don’t acknowledge that God is with us every step of the way. If you want to worry less, then pray more and let His presence overwhelm you. It is the lack of prayer in our lives that allows the problems to gain a stronger foothold in us.

When you pray first, you’ll be thankful later. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers” (Philippians 4:6 TLB).

When you have more to do than you can possibly get done, then there are only two explanations for this. First, you are trying to do more than the Lord wants you to do. Or second, you are trying to do too much on your strength and not on His. Pray that He would show you which one it is.

There is a difference between being busy and being in God’s will. “Therefore, pay careful attention to how you conduct your life — live wisely, not unwisely. Use your time well, for these are evil days. So don’t be foolish, but try to understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17 CJB).

If you want to get rest for your soul, you must come to Jesus just as you are. Don’t you dare think that somehow you must be better to be near Him. The better you is you filled with His life. You can only have His life in you when you are willing to let Him into your soul. He is your rest.

The best version of yourself is Christ in you. “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NLT).

If you are filled with anxious thoughts, then you have let your mind rule you instead of letting Jesus rule over your mind. When you are willing to make your thoughts captive to Christ, it will be there where you will find the greatest freedom you have ever known.

The more you let go of things, the greater your freedom will be. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 ESV).

Are you so tired you cannot even sleep? Are you so burdened you feel as if you cannot even stand up? Give it all to Jesus. The burdens that bury you were never meant to be carried by you. Be willing to give your burdens to the Lord and let Him give you His peace in return. There is no better deal than this.

You will only hold onto as much peace as the troubles you are willing to let go of. “I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous!” (John 14:27 TPT).

My friend, just let go with Jesus right now. Purposefully write out or say every worry and burden you have, then hand it to Him. Let it go. Allow His peace to fill you. Pour out your heart to Him, and He will pour in His love to overflowing.

Falling in love is not gaining someone but surrendering yourself over to them. “Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5 AMP).

Blessings to you,

Paul Balius