Resting in God

Philippians 4:6 ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.’ NKJV. I remember reading this verse of scripture earlier this year and it was as if a light bulb lit up in my head. ‘So why have I been anxious all these years?’ I thought 'if my life is in alignment with God’s will and I have thanked God genuinely from my heart and made my request known to him I need to trust that God is in control'. Before then, I had spent time with God and prayed all night about some issues but I was still anxious about some things after all the prayers. Aren’t we all like this? When we have bills to pay and don’t know where the money will come from, when we have unmet targets and the deadline is coming soon, unmet expectations, for women feeling we are not pretty enough or slim enough, for the single ladies feeling their time is running out and they are not getting any younger, we are even very anxious about the minutest things. I have a friend who is so obsessed about the cellulite on her skin and her big tummy but her tummy is quite flat and I have never seen a cellulite on her body, we must have that designer shoe and bag, we must dress to kill for that party, our Instagram photos must be picture perfect no blemishes, we worry about not having a job or been stuck in one for ages, we compare and contrast ourselves to others ‘oh see my mate she or he is doing so and so and I am just here’ and the list is endless.

Matt 11; 28-30 ⁸ “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, and easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me for all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear” TPT. The Oxford English dictionary describes anxious as a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome. We worry so much and carry such a heavy burden that we are not meant to be carrying. God never designed our lives this way, the pressures of society and projecting ourselves in a certain way, and the insecurities it brings is not God’s plan and purpose for anyone of us.

God intended for us to be like sheep because he is our Shepherd. John 10; 11-18 The Good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Sheep are always with a shepherd, and the shepherd never leaves the sheep alone. The shepherd knows all his sheep by name, he has a personal relationship with each of them that is why when one of them gets lost he knows and would  go and look for that lost sheep. An anxious sheep would be out of place in the flock, sheep are not anxious because when they hear their master’s voice they just follow him. The sheep is calm, it does not fret, Psalm 23; 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. Sheep are fond of moving around so it’s not their forte to lie down they only spend about 15% of their time sleeping, but the shepherd helps the sheep to relax and find some calmness in their souls. We need to allow God to take us to a place of complete calmness and rest in him.

Sheep’s natural defence is not to fight but to flee, they are the only animals that cannot defend themselves, they have no fighting skills. The shepherd of the sheep has a rod which he uses to fight the enemies of the sheep and the staff to guide the sheep. As sheep we cannot do anything in our own strength all the strength we need to fight comes from God.

When sheep produces wool it is used by the shepherd, the more wool is shaved off the sheep’s body the more wool it produces. Wool is used for so many things such as clothing, socks, carpets, furniture etc. Our gifts, talent and calling is for the shepherds use to serve humanity and not for us to keep to ourselves, the more we produce wool and give to God the more we keep producing. Imagine a sheep that is stubborn and refuses to let the shepherd shave off its wool, that sheep will never be productive or fruitful because the wool will remain on the same level forever. Same thing with us if we don’t use our talents for what God intends for us to use them for we will not be fruitful and will never find true fulfilment in life.

Sheep eat fresh grains and of good quality. As sheep we are to eat the word of God daily, which is our daily bread. We are to lie down in green pastures which is resting daily in the word of God. If we do this effectively every day we will not be anxious or burdened by life’s daily struggles. We will hear the master’s voice clearly when he speaks to us and not the voice of strangers and make the right decisions always.

Sheep do not complain when they are about to be sacrificed, they don’t go around screaming ‘oh no! I am about to be slaughtered’. Sheep remain calm and still even in the face of adversity because they know the shepherd is always watching over them even in the face of death.