Why You Can Rest In God’s Love (No Matter What)

Do you struggle to have contentment in hard times? Here’s why you can rest in God’s love no matter what storms might be raging around you…

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Shhhhh…

I rocked my baby son in my arms, sang softly and hushed him gently.

I savored every precious breath I heard him take and felt him grow heavier and heavier on my chest until I could barely breathe under his weight.

As he slept, I stroked his curly hair and nuzzled my face into it. I lingered there on the sofa with him, delighting in his contented slumber and his cozy warmth.

Then, my mind drifted back to the trials we were enduring as a family: ill health, a displaced housing situation, and job loss.

I prayed silently.

Lord, please help us. Help us through these storms, and help us provide a safe, stable life for this precious child that You’ve blessed us with.
 

 
 

LIFE IS TOUGH

It’s a dangerous, dark world. There is so much that could go wrong, and that does go wrong.

Gone are the days when you could leave your front door unlocked while you were out all day. And the days when getting a job meant you’d have it until you retired.

Every day, new threats continue to arise. Terrorism. An unstable economy. Loss of natural resources.

The news reports of a single week are filled with devastation, tragedy, cold-blooded and callous acts of violence, selfishness, and agenda-pushing.

As society slips farther away from God, the more unpredictable and unstable it grows.

You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
(Matthew 24:6-14)

  

GOD’S LOVE IS TRUE

God is faithful. He is steadfast. And He is love.

When you dwell on the fear-inducing realities of all the darkness and wickedness in the world, anxiety won’t be long setting in.

But when you dwell on the faith-building realities of all the hope and goodness in the Lord, fear and anxiety don’t have anywhere left to sit. There’s no room for them. So, they’ll have to leave.

How good and loving is God?

He not only does good, but He is the very definition of goodness itself.

You are good and do good; teach me Your statutes.
(Psalm 119:68)

God not only gives love, but He is love itself.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
(1 John 4:7-8)

And He calls you to dwell on all the goodness and love that He is and gives.

…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
(Philippians 4:8)

Trials and suffering are part of life on this earth, and they will be until Jesus returns. But as you rest in His love, He will give you the strength you need to endure them.

And He will make known His love for you in often surprising ways…
 

 

A TANGIBLE ILLUSTRATION OF GOD’S LOVE

After I slipped my little boy into his crib and gently tucked the blankets around him, I climbed into bed and reached for my Bible and the Our Daily Bread devotional booklet that was sitting next to it.

I flicked to the current date’s entry and read the title: Held By God.

Opening my Bible, I turned to the Scripture reading: Psalm 131. A short, little Psalm, tucked away in the middle of the page, only three verses long.

I started reading, and couldn’t believe my eyes as I read the second verse:

Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
(Psalm 131:2)

A weaned child… just like my little boy.

Rests against his mother… that’s what he was doing just a few minutes ago!

I felt the embrace of God’s love as I read the words of the verse over and over.

God not only blessed me with my son, but He had used the beautiful contented rest that my son and I had just shared as a beautiful reminder of His unchanging love.
 

 

The whole Psalm reads:

O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.

 

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WE CAN TRUST HIM

David’s words in the Psalm above reveal humility, submission, trust, and hope. He speaks of his weakness, his calm faith and of the hope that all can find in the Lord.

And as I read the Psalm over and over, I realized that I don’t need to worry about all the storms we were trying to navigate as a family or the long list of things that do and can go wrong in the world.

Through Jesus’s sacrifice, I’ve been adopted in. God is my Father. And I can rest against Him the way my little boy rested against me.

My son wasn’t worried about the latest news reports, or the roof over our heads or the money in our bank account. He just curled up on me and went to sleep in sweet, peaceful rest.

You can do the same with God.

No matter what storms are raging around you right now, you can rest in God the way that your child rests on you – safe, secure, without worry about the future, the present or the past.

Ask Him to grow in you a simplistic faith – a childlike faith – that He is there and that He will meet your every need. That He sees the bigger picture and has it all in His hand.

And that He will help you – His child – to rest in Him, calm and contented.

He loves you. And He’s making known to you how much He loves you, right now.

All you have to do is turn to Him and see it.

The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”
(Jeremiah 31:3)

>>> LIVING IT OUT >>>

Pray:

Ask the Lord to help you trust Him more and worry less. Thank Him for His love for you and for all the ways He has revealed it to you.

Study:

Psalm 131. (Use the free printable worksheets below to help you.)

Remember:

You can rest in God’s love. He is your Father (if you’ve trusted in Christ for your atonement) and He loves you and is with you. Rest in Him.

Download:

Your free printable Psalm 131 worksheet and Prayer Journaling sheet, to help you study Psalm 131, pray about it and apply it to your own relationship with the Lord.

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Need some reassurance of God’s mighty power, care, and love?
Read this: Nothing Will Be Impossible With God