The Rest of God and The Benefits of Being in the Presence of God

When I'm in the kitchen preparing a meal or a snack for my kids I notice that they have very different behavior. My son knows that I'm preparing something for him so he wanders off to play or watch tv until I let him know it's ready. My daughter is very different however. As I'm going about washing fruit, cutting up vegetables, stirring the soup...she's right there following my every move. Sometimes she even clings to my leg or holds on to my skirt so that she can be in on everything I'm doing. Often, because she's right there I'll give her a sample of what I'm preparing: a piece of cheese, a cracker, or some fruit. Sometimes her sweet little smile has convinced me to give her a whole stack of pancakes!

The Rest of God

        As believers we can learn a lot from the behavior of my son and daughter. My son trusts me so he's not worried about whether his meal is coming. He's not frantically pacing back and forth wondering whether I will do what I said. Due to his trust and faith in my desire and ability to provide for him he can go relax and enjoy himself.  Just as my son trusts me to take care of him we can trust the loving, faithful, powerful, almighty God to supply our needs, heal us, deliver us, and give us favor. Every promise is the Bible is ours. God is just waiting for us to believe and trust in Him. Once we have full faith in Him we can enter into the rest of God and truly enjoy our lives. "For we who have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest.." Hebrews 4:3 

(To build our faith we must consistently read and study the Word of God. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God-Romans 10:17. A great place to read about men and women of faith is Hebrews 11.)

The Benefits of Being in the Presence of God

My daughter trusts that I will provide as well, but she has also learned that by staying in my presence she can receive the benefit of sampling what I'm preparing. It's the same way when it comes to our relationship with God. The more we hang around Him the more we reap the benefits of His presence. Here are just a few of the benefits of being in the presence of God:

Joy and Pleasures

"...in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand are pleasures forever more." Psalm 16:11

Liberty and Freedom

 "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom)." II Corinthians 3:17

Courage, Confidence, Strength, and Help

"Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you..." Isaiah 41:10

Successfully Answered Prayer

"If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you." John 15:7 (Keep in mind that we must pray in line with the will of God in order to see things come to pass. See the post titled Rescued from the Edge for more details.)