I am still tired from our trip, still needing to rest more than usual. As I thought about needing physical rest, I began to think also of spiritual rest, about resting on the promises of God and what that involves. The thing about resting is that it is nearly synonymous with trusting. We rest only where we can trust. There is no rest if there is no trust.
Another thing is that in resting on, trusting in the promises of God, faith will always face obstacles. As soon as we claim a promise such as, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” we are going to find obstacles in our pathway that try to distract us, difficulties we must conquer, impediments that appear problematic or impossible to overcome. It doesn’t seem to matter what the promise is, our faith will be challenged. It must be exercised and stretched. [Philippians 4:13]
Ever started an exercise program to build muscle and strength? Remember how you moved and stretched, and how your muscles ached the next morning? You probably wondered why bother if it is going to hurt like this every time. But you learned that eventually with consistent exercise and stretching your muscles it quit hurting, and your strength increased.
Our faith grows and becomes strong the same way, by exercising it, by overcoming all the obstacles in the pathway as we rest on the promises of our God.
