Refreshed?

This mornings lesson really helped clarify something that used to boggle my mind a bit. Here’s a little excerpt to explain a little first “Rest is a discipline and an act of obedience. We think of rest as crawling into bed and binge-watching a season of your favorite show. But true rest is something that fills our souls and empowers us to create and intentionally live life. Rest is believing God can do anything then stepping back and letting Him.” This has been so true for me in my life and how I never feel rested, refreshed or satisfied after spending an evening or afternoon “resting” the way our culture defines rest...vegging out mindlessly watching hours of tv or surfing the internet? I basically end up feeling guilty for wasting so much time and feel more blah and lifeless than I did before. However, when I spend an hour or two with God, studying His Word and praying or just journaling thoughts to Him, I end up feeling revived, motivated and empowered to do just about anything!! My physical brain always tries to make the argument that there’s no way studying God’s Word is going to lift my spirits and motivate me, but it does every single time I do it. No matter how much I try to rationalize it, it’s still true. Of course, that is, as long as I coming to HIM with a willing and pliable heart and not begrudgingly ;) Have you ever just turned off the tv, put down your phone and looked to God to give you the satisfaction and “rest” your hearts and souls “truly” desire? If not, give it a try :D What do you have to lose? So the next time you’re in need of some true R&R, consider this additional excerpt and scriptures below: “When Jesus promises us rest, He is almost always talking about soul rest. It’s why all the ways we try to rest our souls don’t actually make us feel very rested - TV, sleep, Facebook surfing, and so forth. They all fall short because nothing but Jesus can issue rest for our chaotic insides. In fact, most of the ways we try and rest actually make our insides more chaotic. Surfing Facebook can end with us angry over someone’s post or comparing our lives to our friends’. Binge-watching a show can suck us into fictional stress and distract us from connecting with our real-life people. Even taking a vacation can become chaotic with plans and preparation and possibly disappointed expectations.” ~Jennie Allen Proven page 73 & 74 “For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” Psalm 107:9 “Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35 “For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.” Jeremiah 31:25