Inspiration

God calls us to live at rest in Him. Rest doesn't mean that you're on vacation and never do anything. We all have to work and handle challenges. We all have to interact with different people, but we're supposed to do it from a place of peace; not stressed out, worried or fighting everything that we don't like. 

Hebrews 4 tells us "to enter into the rest of God." That's a place where we know God's in control; we know He's fighting our battles. But here's the key: once you enter this rest, you're not going to automatically stay there. Life is full of peace stealers. There will always be people and circumstances trying to pull you out of peace. If you're going to live in peace, you have to put up some boundaries. You can't watch the news 24 hours a day and expect to stay at rest. Your mind wasn't meant to take in all the tragedies, accidents and killings over and over. That's going to pull you out of the place of rest. Do yourself a favor; turn it off. Be careful what you meditate on.

One Friday night, Victoria and I went to watch this movie about a war. It was very violent with people being tortured and families ripped apart. I arrived there in peace simply wanting to be entertained. But when I left, I was on edge. I felt like I had been run over by a truck. That whole night, I dreamed I was in the middle of that war. Victoria kept waking me up, "Joel, you're having a nightmare. Wake up!" The next day, I had to get up and finish preparing my message for Saturday night. I learned my lesson! What you take in the night before affects your day.

Always remember that what you see and hear eventually gets into your subconscious mind. If you're taking in all the negative, violence and discouragement, that's going to depress your spirit. We have to constantly be aware of what might pull us out of rest. Sometimes it's our own choices. But just like your choices can pull you out of rest, your choices can lead you into rest. Choose wisely and hold on to the peace He's giving you every single day!