Repositioning for Rest

Repositioning for Rest. 

The Oxford Dictionary defines the term ‘reposition’ as adjusting your position.

But why do we need to adjust or ‘reposition’ ourselves? In the Bible we see many people who had to physically reposition themselves to get into Gods presence. To achieve this, they had to reposition themselves in a manner that was contrary to their natural instinct. 

David had to reposition himself in a time of great distress in order to hear from God (1 Samuel 30), Peter had to forget his fear and get out of the boat (Matthew 14), Zacchaeus had to forget his status and climb a tree (Luke 19) and in chapter 23 of the Gospel of Luke, the thief on the cross had to forget his pain to focus on Jesus  (I personally think he repositioned himself by turning his head to look at The Lord),  but in every case by repositioning themselves they were able to enter into Gods rest.

Just like those in the Bible, repositioning ourselves takes courage. Unfortunately for many different reasons and life circumstances we can simply drift or be drawn out of the presence of God…and the longer we are away the more distant He seems.  When we are distant from Him it’s easy to forget all that He is and all He has promised for us.  We have an enemy, the Devil (Satan), and he loves nothing more than to draw us away from being in the presence of God, and the tactics he uses are subtle, but extremely effective.

For some it may be that we must reposition ourselves by renewing our mind (Romans 12:2) firstly to understand and believe the love God has for us and secondly trust in the power of His promises.

Rest. 

Rest is more than physical relaxation; it is a state of the soul. It has been my experience that rest requires a combination of trust (faith) and a personal revelation of God's grace on our lives.   The revelation of Grace reveals to us the unbounded love He has towards us and that His love is not based on our character or performance, it’s based in His (we love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). His love is unconditional and it’s the soil in which faith flourishes.

When we grasp the depth of His unconditional love, our faith grows. When we personally experience Christ's love, it becomes easy and natural to trust Him and believe His Word. Having a personal revelation of God's grace on our life is what gives us great confidence in His love toward us individually, His authority over all things and His willingness to allow His power in our lives.