How do you rest when there is so much to do? How do you find rest when things are in complete chaos?
Girl, if you’re exhausted and worn out, overwhelmed and unsettled, God has a word for you today! If you’ve prayed asking how in the world you’re supposed to get through what you’re going through, you need to know God has heard every word of your prayers and he has every intention on showing you the way through. Now listen closely for your answers.
You will find rest in the Father’s hands, when you leave the rest in the Father’s hands.
Your unrest comes from trying to control the things you cannot control. Your overwhelm comes from worrying about things that aren’t even happening today. Your exhaustion comes from not settling into the place that is perfectly fashioned to carry you through this. The Father’s Hands.
I mean what … you don’t think he is capable of handling this? You know those hands formed all of creation, right? You know those hands hold the entire universe, right? You know every care and worry you’ve been dragging around with you are covered by his hand, right? Okay then Sis, why are you still trying to carry it? You can leave it here in his hands. His hands have been proven mighty, powerful, capable and caring.
1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
What does it mean to humble ourselves? Humble under God’s mighty hand? To be humble means you are fully aware of your inability to do this on your own. Humility recognizes, he is God, and you are not. A proud person thinks they can handle life and tries to control everything. A humble person realizes they can trust God to handle every issue in their life, as they partner with him.
So where are you? Are you still trying to control all of this? Are you still trying to force things to happen the way you think they should happen? Is your refusal to bend ultimately going to lead to you breaking?
I bet you’re feeling pretty anxious aren’t you? You feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders, because honey you’ve been trying to carry what was never yours to carry.
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but I’m just going to say it … Girl, you are not Jesus. You can’t save them. You can’t fix them. You can’t heal them. You can’t change them. The weight of this burden was never intended for your shoulders, but you’re the one keeping it there. And you know what keeps it there? Ultimately it’s pride. Pride thinking you can do this.
Whew, and here you’re being humbled.
Humbled not for the purpose of being broken, but humbled for the purpose of being held.
You will find rest in the Father’s hands, when you leave the rest in the Father’s hands.
Yes, the rest. All the rest of this mess that you can’t fix. The rest of this chaos that you can’t understand. The rest of the details you were never given. The rest that is beyond your understand, beyond your ability, and beyond your calling. This is what causes your anxiety. This is what causes your hopelessness. This was never meant to be carried by you, it was always meant to be cast into the Father’s hands.
There was a time in my life when I had no idea just how much God cared for me. A time when I didn’t understand his hand was in every detail of my life. A time when I felt like if it was going to happen, it was going to happen because I made it happen. A time when I placed all the weight squarely on my shoulders … and my knees buckled.
You know what happens when you try to carry a weight that isn’t yours to carry and your knees buckle … you naturally fall to your knees. and here on my knees is where my pride hit the floor and I was humbled. Humbly reminded I am not Jesus!
Could this be why God allows the weight to become so heavy sometimes? Because he wants you to stop trying to carry it!
You see, when you’re spending all your time and energy trying to haul around a mountainous load of crap you’re not supposed to be carrying, you have no time and energy left to be doing the things you really should be doing with your life. The things you were created to do are left undone because your hands are full with all the stuff you weren’t intended to be picking up.
You come home so stressed out from work, that your family only gets the crabby, exhausted version of you. Wait right there … is that you? You’ve allowed the blessing of the job you once prayed for to become the reason why you’re an exhausted hag when you get home? You’ve allowed the place that PAYS YOU TO SHOW UP, to become the reason why less of you comes home? Girl, no!
You’ve been picking up things that didn’t have you name on them, dragging them around like they belong to you, then wondering why you can’t rest.
You will find rest in the Father’s hands, when you leave the rest in the Father’s hands.
Repeat after me:
Not my circus, not my monkeys.
That’s humility.
You want to run this circus and make the monkeys yours. But you are not the ringmaster here, girlfriend. Once you figure that out, and resign from your position as chaos coordinator, then guess what … the chaos moves on.
Really, the chaos moves on. Chaos is attracted to where it is catered to. When the chaos is no longer received with catering, the poop parade just moves on down the road. And you’re left with open hands to do what you’re supposed to be doing, because you put the rest in the Father’s hands. And here, you find rest because you’re held in his hands.
Some of us are addicted to chaos. Chaos gives us a feeling of importance. Why is it we only feel important if we’re busy. I assure you, busy is not an indicator of value. Most of the time this extreme busyness you put on display is a result of poor time management and focusing on low priority tasks.
Ohhhhh, did that sting?
You want rest? You want peace? You want the chaos to calm the heck down? Now really think about that because that may mean you have to relinquish control and let some stuff go. (Ohhhh, that’s cringey to my enneagram 1, 3 and 8 friends. My perfectionists, my achievers and my leaders are hating on this 7 enthusiast right now.) But God, who designed every personality as a reflection of his divine nature says, “If you will turn that over to me, I’ll take care of it.”
I have a song for you today. It’s one I’ve used in a devotional before. “Bigger Than I Thought” by Passion Conferences:
So I throw all my cares before You
My doubts and fears don’t scare You
You’re bigger than I thought You were
You’re bigger than I thought
I stop all negotiations
With the God of all creation
You’re bigger than I thought You were
You’re bigger than I thought
And now, here it is … this is what you need to hear today ….. Ready????
I will rest in the Father’s hands
Leave the rest in the Father’s hands
Ahhhh, did you feel that? That was peace. That was release. That was rest. That’s what God wanted you to hear today. He’s got this and he’s got you. Hand it over to him today.
You haven’t been feeling rest, because you haven’t been leaving the rest.
I cannot control this. I’m not supposed to control this.
I cannot carry this. I’m not supposed to carry this.
I cannot fix this. I’m not supposed to fix this.
I cannot understand this. I’m not supposed to understand this.
I will work in partnership with God, doing all I can do to the best of my ability (refusing the false invitation to promote myself to ringmaster once again) and cast all the rest into the Father’s hands. Then, I will rest. I will receive peace as I am held perfectly in the Father’s hands.
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