The Rest of Faith

There are so many believers today that are confused about what true biblical faith is. This problem obviously is tied to the various teachings that we have on the subject of faith. However, regardless of what your view on the subject of faith is, there are certain things that are constant and consistent with faith. The essence of this short piece is to highlight one of the things that we know to be consistent with faith which is Rest.

Faith isn’t mere boldface, it is quietness and absolute confidence in God and in His word.  One of the key indicators to know whether you are in faith or not is to check if you are rested. If you are not rested concerning any issue, then you are not in faith concerning it. Let me quickly clarify at this point before we move any further that the rest we are talking about is not synonymous to being laid back or to assume a “ce sera sera” mentality, for that is the mentality of an atheist.

In his classic, Sit Walk and Stand, Watchman Nee described the believer’s position as first, being seated with Christ, which is a position of rest. He noted that though it is paradoxical, but true, that we only advance in our Christian life as we learn first to rest (sit). Then he goes on to talk about the believer’s stand in faith against the enemy and then the believer’s walk with God. Notice however, that whatever the believer does, it must be from the position of rest, realizing that he/she is dependent on the finished work of Christ.

One story in the bible that clearly illustrates the rest of faith is that of the apostle Peter in Acts 12. Peter was in prison and was guarded by sixteen (16) soldiers. The night before he was to be handed over to the Jews for execution, he was asleep. Talk about rest! You are to be executed the next day and you could still sleep all through the night! I thought the proper thing to do if you really wanted God’s intervention would be to be praying and blasting in other tongues through the night. But that is what the rest of faith is. Peter was so rested that even after the angel rescued him, he thought he was having a dream.

How rested is your faith? Could you have been in Peter’s shoes and still be able to sleep? Are you one who is given to running all over from one all-night prayers to another deliverance service because of a particular challenge you are faced with? It is a good thing to pray and have all-night service or deliverance meetings as long as it is born out of rest. At least one thing we know for sure was that the church was praying for Peter and I believe he also prayed for himself. But after you have prayed and prayers have also been offered on your behalf, do you still keep worrying and talking about the problem or do you simply enter your rest. If you have prayed and you believe that God has heard and answered your prayers, then it is time to rest. Kenneth E. Hagin remarked that when we learn to enter the rest of faith, we give the Lord the freedom to bring His plan to pass in our lives.

Someone may say that I have been praying over a particular issue for some years now and it looks as though nothing is happening. Well, you need to enter your rest and begin to thank God for the manifestation of your desires rather than worrying and complaining. It beats my imagination that someone will pray and shout and speak in tongues about a particular challenge and then the next minute they begin to negate everything they have said in prayers to God. In fact, I personally believe that the reason why many are yet to experience the manifestation of their desires is that they are not rested. You may pray, fast, go to church and pay your tithe, but if you are not rested you will limit the flow of God’s power on your behalf and you will miss out on so much. You need to ask yourself a simple question – how much more effort can you really put in to help yourself? …the works have been finished before the foundations of the world. It is time to cease from your labours, enter into the rest of faith, and watch how things will take a positive turn in your life.

N.B

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