Rest Or Worry Part 2

Rest Or Worry PART 2

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your LIFE, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your BODY, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the BIRDS of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more VALUE than they? 27 Which of you by WORRYING can add one cubit to his stature? 28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the LILIES of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of LITTLE FAITH? - Matt 6:25-30 (emphasis added)

As mentioned in Part 1, resting is not about inactivity. It is about identity. It is a constant activity to affirm our value and identity. The reason why we can rest is because of the New Covenant that Christ has with the Father.

Some time ago, I asked Him, "Why would You consider the lilies of the field to be more glorious than all the glory of Solomon? Maybe I don't know how to appreciate the lilies more than the riches of Solomon... but how is that possible?"

He said, "Because the lilies neither TOIL nor spin..." Then I was reminded of Solomon.

"I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. 5 I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. 7 I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me... Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had TOILED; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun." - Ecclesiastes 2:4-7, 11 (emphasis added)

Solomon lived in the Old Covenant; we live in the New Covenant. Solomon could not rest on the inside, because Christ had not finished His works on the Cross. In other words, Solomon had to reap what he sowed, but we can reap what we did not sow.

This is why God said, "Look at the BIRDS of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more VALUE than they?"

The birds neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; the lilies neither toil nor spin. Because the Father's world doesn't work like our world. We don't work FOR rest ---- that's toiling. We work FROM rest.

As worrying cannot add one cubit to our stature, it means that worrying is not an external activity. It is an activity of the heart. In other words, two people can be doing the same outward activity, but each has a different activity in their heart --- one is out of worrying while the other is out of rest. You can't tell the difference outwardly, but you can tell by looking at their soul (LIFE) and health (BODY). This is why the kingdom doesn't work by applying the same method. It works by our relationship with the Father.

The remedy for worrying is to replace that activity of the heart with resting. How?

Jesus said, "Are you not of more VALUE than they?" The next time when you look at the birds and the lilies, you can gladly tell yourself, "Well, I am more valuable than these. And if the Father feeds and clothes them, how much MORE will He feed and clothe me."

The value we have is the value of the New Covenant. It took the death of God's Son to establish the New Covenant. Our value IS the life of Jesus. When we recognise our value, we can rest. Your working cannot increase or decrease your value. But your resting empowers you to affirm your value.

When we worry, we supply what we need. But when we rest, our Father will supply what we need. It is impossible for Him to break this rule, because it means that He has to first 'de-value' us, which in turn, 'de-value' the Cross.

If He compares worrying to "O you of LITTLE FAITH", it also means that He sees you of GREAT FAITH when you simply rest.

In the next part, we will see the practical way to truly REST in Him as He revealed in the same passage. #identity #rest #supply