Jun 24, 2022
How do we live this abundant life God’s Word talks about in John 10:10 when we are, quite frankly, often so tired – on the verge of burnout. We, as women, wear so many hats.
We desperately need time to rest, to rest in Him. To breathe and reset – to gather strength, His strength, and allow His power to work through us.
Just like our bodies need sleep and rest – our souls need rest too!
Rusanne Carole, our host, takes us on a Christian meditation to spend time with Jesus. Take a "Mini-Sabbath" and step into His presence to refresh and renew your soul.
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Welcome to Celebrating God’s Grace, a WWL’s podcast. I am your host, Rusanne Carole. Thank you for joining us today and we invite you join us each week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday where a variety of interviews, teachings and sharing of God’s grace helps uplift us and support us in our walk with God. Today I thought we would look at how to live the abundant - a life of resting in God knowing He has all things under control. We can feel anything but abundance when we are exhausted, overwhelmed and the battles keep coming…how do we live this abundant life God’s Word talks about in John 10:10 when we are quite frankly often so tired – on the verge of burnout. We, as women, wear so many hats. Some of us are carrying quite a bit – You may be:
Caring for a loved one who is totally dependent on you
Looking after an elderly parent
Trying to juggle work and home duties – which may even include home schooling young children and many women are doing this alone without the support of family or a husband
We may have health issues we are facing – financial problems to try to work through
The list goes on.
and we desperately need time out, to rest, to rest in Him. To breathe and reset – to gather strength, His strength and His power to work through us.
Just like our bodies need sleep and rest – our souls need rest too!
Matthew 11:28 Jesus says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. And Psalm 23:1-2 tells us the Lord is our shepherd and we lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters.
Our soul is defined as our mind, thoughts and feelings.
How do we turn the unhealthy thoughts of the mind and unhelpful feelings felt in the heart over to Him – to be restored, refreshed, and renewed enabling us to move through each day with courage, strength and operate with the perseverance needed to persevere in this world! By being in His presence! By allowing Him to take us to lie our souls down in those green pastures, to lead us beside the quiet waters where all we see is His face, all we hear is His voice.
I am presently going through one of the most difficult times in my life and what sustains me is Him. I cannot get through this tunnel I feel I am in without looking to Him and His Word constantly – knowing who He is and His promises are for me no matter what I am facing in the natural.
The Bible talks of two women who were very close to Jesus. They and their brother, Lazurus, were friends with Jesus. Any of us who have studied the Word know that Martha is described as the “doer” and Mary as the women who sits at Jesus’ feet – some might say she is able to simply “be”.
But we need a balance of both!
We are called to pray on all things, do what we can and then leave everything else to God!
I don’t know about you but I can pray, do what I can, give it to God then keep picking it back up!
Worrying thoughts, the what ifs! The confusion! The fear!
How do you sit? Sit still when there is so much to be done. Globally, women are now working outside the home & this is on the increase year after year. So there’s work to be done to pay the bills then work to be done to be there for our children or husband or family.
I just love the Word of God. It really does have all the answers to life’s questions… and challenges we face. One thing it tells us is in Hebrews 4 – we must MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ENTER REST!
We were given a gift called the SABBATH. Mark 2:27 says the Sabbath was made for man, not man made for the Sabbath. Yes, God rested on the 7th day and looked at everything he had made and said, “It is good”. He didn’t need to rest! I think He was modeling what a good and abundant life looked like for His children – just as we are called to do the same. The little ones are watching us – how we live, what we say…
So it is intentional – on purpose -that we take the time to rest. Rest our body and our soul to renew and reset with more strength and focus. It’s easy to seek the “other things” – the “worldy things”. God tells us these are the idols in our heart that need to be cleansed.
Where do you go to get rest and comfort?
I know I’ve turned first to the phone vs the throne. Girls like to chat it out! God wants us to bring it all to Him. Food, shopping, gambling, drugs, alcohol, a relationship– all kind of things we can turn to, to make us feel better when often we need to sit, be still and hear from God.
I have found that when I need rest the most is when I cannot hear from my Father. The enemy will use busyness to keep us from the best God has for us. Satan is good at distracting us – and we keep going rather than spending that quality time that our Lord loves to have with us.
I like to take a day to “spend with God”. Sometimes it’s a walk on the beach or sitting with my journal and writing to Him and with Him. I admit it is hard to simply sit and listen but that is what His heart desires. We often do all the talking and forget the waiting and listening part.
Life can get busy. So I like to take what I call “mini Sabbaths”.
Just little moments throughout the day to breath, rest, reset.. Have my mind, my heart, my thoughts, my focus on Him.
We know the mind is the battlefield.
“I don’t have time for this now.”
“I can do it later.”
“How much good can it really do?”
All the lies and unhelpful thoughts come. I teach young people and one of the superpowers I teach is “the unhealthy thought zapper”. We zap the unhealthy thoughts and replace it with a helpful thought”
“I will make the time to spend in God’s presence. He loves me and loves when I hang out with Him.”
“I will do it right now, even if it’s for a few moments.”
“I know it’s good for me for my Father tells me we lack nothing in Him”
So I had an idea to take us for a Christian meditation. God gave us an imagination and I believe we can use it to close our eyes and be with Him, whether it’s for 5 mins or longer if you can carve out the time. Just to sit and be with Him. Go into His presence and imagine you are with Him. My hope and prayer is that it will refresh you and encourage you to take these mini-Sabbaths with Him daily.
So hit pause if you can (or you can do at a later time) grab a coffee or tea if you wish, find a comfortable place, put some instrumental worship music on and let’s together go to a quiet, peaceful place and be with our loving Jesus.
Take a few deep breaths in through the nose.
Pause for a moment and out slowly through the mouth. Even as you exhale imagine all the worry, the fears, the tiredness of your soul being released.
Let your shoulders relax. Let your whole body relax. Keep taking slow, deep breaths.
Keeping your eyes closed, imagine you are walking through a large green grassed pasture. You are barefoot and the grass feels like a soft carpet under your feet. You see every colour of flowers: purple ones, red ones, yellow and white ones. It is a spectacular sight. The hot sun beats down on your face and shoulders and you can feel the warmth on your face. You have been here before and you look for Him. He meets you here.
You look up to the sky and it is the most beautiful blue with fluffy, white clouds dispersed amongst the blue background. You are so relaxed and all is calm and peaceful. You see the biggest oak tree by the still waters of the lake that is nearby so you walk toward the swing that is hanging by the large, sturdy trunk of the tree. You hop on and begin swinging like you did as a little girl. Your white cotton dress is swaying and flapping in the wind – just like the green leaves are in the tree.
Then you see Him. Jesus is walking toward you up and over a big hill. He has the sweetest smile on His face and He is looking right into your eyes as if to say I am here, I have been waiting for you. I love when you come to spend time with me.
I know you are tired.
I know your heart is aching with the troubles of the world.
But you are here with me now. So let’s make the most of the time we have.
You jump off the swing and run through the grass to meet Him.
To look closer in His face, to meet His glance and to look deeply into His eyes.
And He says in the most tranquil, soft, loving voice:
You are beautiful.
You are loved.
You are my masterpiece.
My most beloved child.
As you hold His hand you feel a peace only He can offer
No words are even needed. His holy presence is all that is needed in the moment.
You just know He can read your every thought.
You just know He has caught and stored each tear that has travelled down your cheeks
You know He cares so deeply for you and all that you go through each day, He sees it all.
He sweeps you up and twirls you around and it’s as if the wind and the blades of grass are playing a magical tune that you’ve never heard before but it brings a joy and laughter from you both and you are dizzy with love, a love like no other.
He places you to rest upon a soft blanket He has prepared for you by the still waters in the green pasture. He gently kisses you on your forehead and leaves you to rest and reflect on Him and your time with your Father. He begins His walk back over the hill, but you know you will see Him again when you take the time for He is always there, waiting just over the hill, waiting just for you!
Let us pray:
Lord, I pray we can know the power of Your presence and take the time to spend with You. Alone with You. To bring all our concerns, burdens and worries to You. To visualize you holding our hand and our heart. And that all will be well. You are all we need, and You have us in the palm of Your Hand and shelter us under Your mighty wings. May we all be prompted to spend time getting to know You through Your Word as well as simply stopping through our busy days to sit with You so we can see You and hear You.
We love you Jesus. Amen