I continue to press into the Father to have revelation about rest and coming into a place of rest. In Psalm 91 we are invited into a place of dwelling, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty". One of the meanings of abide, is to cause to rest or lodge. I believe David was reaching forward into a covenant that was beyond his current day, in other words through his intimacy and desire to know God he was able to receive unusual favor for his day. Since Jesus sits on the "Throne of David", we want to see that Davidic intimacy and worship is an invitation to experience the benefits of the New Covenant in Christ. So in Psalm 91, David is reaching into a place of intimacy, protection, and favor that few in his day walked in. In fact, this type of intimacy with God is forerunner model of what we have "in Christ". In Ephesians 3 we are invited into a place of having Christ dwell in our hearts by faith and in Ephesians 2:6 we are told that we have been seated "in Christ" in heavenly places. I believe that when we live from an orphan heart, hiding our true self, there is no rest because there will always be the fear of being exposed. Living out of our true self, where we are dependent on our Father, from a place of humility we can walk in the light letting others know us intimately. After Adam and Eve believed "the Lie", ate of tree of knowledge of good and evil, and then Fell they lived from an orphan heart with no rest because they continually looked for ways to hide. I am convinced that the only true rest we can find on this earth is as we dwell and abide "in Christ" trusting Him for our needs. There are many counterfeit rests, there are those invitations for us to escape our circumstances, relational issues, and personal problems. Some of these are fantasy, places of checking out (can be TV, video games, or other things used to escape), and also can be use of substances. Obviously not all TV watching or drinking a glass of wine is used as an escape, it is discerning what is the motivation of the heart. Being comfortable has often become the goal in our culture, yet we live in the tension of putting off an old identity to walk in our new identities. This is not a comfortable process, yet every step into walking in our new identity united with Him releases new life. Then also we can all see the fruit in our lives, dwelling and abiding in a place of intimacy and rest with the Father produces good fruit (fruit of the Spirit). When we live from an orphan heart, we are constantly restless looking for purpose, acceptance, and affirmation from any source that we believe will meet our need. I believe as we spend intimate time with the Father, we know who we are, we are living from Father's mission for our lives, and we have a place of rest in His arms. An orphan heart refuses to remain in a place of submission, so finding their mission is completely dependent upon themselves so there is a lot of pressure and demands. The Lord spoke to me that there is a secret in rest to seeing His glory, all the people who encountered the glory of God ended up flat in worship. Rest is a place of leaning into trusting Him for life, as we rest in Him then we become available for Him to rest on us (His manifest Presence). In our society we often think of rest as being passive, whereas in Hebrews 4 the meaning of rest is a place that God dwells. The realm of rest is connected to relational connection with God, not on lack of activity. I pray that Father would continue to open up the realm of rest that He has stored up for you as a believer.
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