Habits

It’s audio devo day!

A lifestyle of inner rest will not come by default. This week we wrap up our Soul Rest series talking about how to aggressively go after quiet until it becomes part of us. Will you put aside what seems most pressing to embrace what is most crucial? Snuggle up with a cuppa and get ready for Holy Spirit to pour His peace into you as you listen here:

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“…That we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior” (1 Tim. 2:2b-3, NIV).

This verse is really special. Think about it for a moment. Just how much does God love us? It gives Him great pleasure for us to live quiet lives. It delights His heart for us kids of His to have lifestyles marked by genuine peace and restfulness. So let’s go ahead and dig into a few more of His loving thoughts on this matter.

First of all, He wants us to understand that quiet and peace do not come by default. A funny-sounding verse out of Hebrews points this out to us: “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest…” (Heb. 4:11, ESV). Wait a minute here. Don’t “striving” and “resting” sound like a contradiction of terms? As strange as this may seem, they are not. You see, oftentimes we have to engage in a fierce battle to protect our rest and our quietude.

A side note here about this Scripture. Even more than an external quiet, God is talking to you and me about inner quietude: a heart at rest. However, in order to enter into God’s rest within our souls, we will need to build quiet into our physical lives as well. This will not come without a fight.

Consider this. What is the context in which you live? Is it the frantic, break-neck pace of a society full of people anxiously busying themselves to shut out their emptiness? Is it a culture where the more hectic and packed your schedule, the more “virtuous” you are? If so, then you get me when I say that Continue reading Return to Your Rest