Get More Done Through God-Directed Rest

“He said, “Lord Yahweh, how will I know that I will inherit it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” He brought him all these, and divided them in the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he didn’t divide the birds. The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him...It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”” (Genesis‬ ‭15:8-12, 17-21‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

In the passage above, Abram was getting ready to make a covenant with the Lord. He was doing a good job chasing away the birds who wanted to eat the carcasses needed for the covenant.

But the Lord saw that Abram was trying his best by his own efforts, and put him to sleep.

Subsequently, the Lord made Abram the beneficiary of the covenant, while He became the only one responsible to fulfill all the terms of the covenant.

Abram, a fallible mere mortal, would never have become the heir of the world if he had insisted on fulfilling the covenant by his own efforts. It can only be possible through God alone.

Sometimes you want to stay awake and handle things by yourself, trying to do your best.

But suddenly, God forces you to sleep. Whatever situation you’re facing that seems like ‘forced sleep’, don’t fight against it—just rest.

God knows that you are overworked and overloaded. You need a break and to receive true rest from Him. It is the time to double up on feeding on the Gospel of the Grace of Christ.

You may be thinking, “I can’t rest now! There’s so many things waiting for me to complete. If I don’t do it, no one else will!”

Be assured that while you are resting by receiving God’s word, God is at work for your good.

Hearing the Gospel is never wasted time. In fact, it is the power of God unto your salvation from all troubles.

Your God is arranging things in your favor, preparing people to help you, and when you are ready, He gives you the power, anointing and wisdom to do double or more of the same amount of work in less time, with a renewed restfulness and ease.

You will get more done when you make time for this God-directed rest!

I wrote a Patreon Bible Study series called “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” which is a study of almost the whole book of Genesis, focusing on the patriarchs of our faith, and how God’s power and grace shone forth in their lives.

We are called “Abraham’s offspring” and blessed with believing Abraham, so we need to learn about this man’s life to understand how to inherit these blessings.

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When the children of Israel entered the promised land, Yahweh had already sent hornets (🐝 ) ahead of them to lethally sting their enemies to death, leaving a manageable number of opponents—tailor-made to the children of Israel’s level of faith.

Although there were giants (Rephaim) in the land, the number of them was cut down significantly and the remaining ones were cowering in fear.

Imagine these giants—so tall and mighty, trembling in their boots at little bees. 😂
This is a picture of your demonic enemies. When they attack you, they don’t really have the guts to because they are afraid of the Spirit of Jesus who is in you and who is infinitely more powerful than them.
It’s so characteristic of God to use little things to put to nothing the mighty things of the world.

“and every spirit who doesn’t confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist, of whom you have heard that it comes. Now it is in the world already. You are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John‬ ‭4:3-4‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

Remember what Rahab the Jericho harlot said to the two spies?

“She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.” ‭‭(Joshua‬ ‭2:9‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

The giants that the children of Israel were so fearful of 40 years ago were actually deathly afraid of them.
You are on offense mode, while these demons are on defense mode—they are blocking your inheritance.
Even though your spiritual enemies are stronger than you in the natural—angels were made stronger than man—but you have Christ in you and that tips the scales in your favor, guaranteeing your victory!

Think about how easy it was for Jesus to cast out a whole legion (6000 or more) of demons out from a possessed man just by speaking a word.

“Behold, they cried out, saying, “What do we have to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding far away from them. The demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of pigs.” He said to them, “Go!” They came out, and went into the herd of pigs: and behold, the whole herd of pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea, and died in the water.” ‭‭(Matthew‬ ‭8:29-32‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

We have received that same authority over demons, that in Jesus’ name, they have to be cast out.
They may stubbornly cling on but insist on having them leave.
You see, if they fail in their mission, they’re probably going to get it bad from the devil, so they have to try their best to stop you. 😂

“These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new languages; they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will in no way hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”” ‭‭(Mark‬ ‭16:17-18‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

Dear brethren, in every challenge, if there’s demons behind it, remember to wage the battle with your spoken words. You can’t rely on your own strength because these are spiritual enemies and need to be defeated with spiritual weapons.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.” ‭‭(Ephesians‬ ‭6:10-13‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

Use the two offensive parts of the whole armor of God: the sword of the Spirit (believe and confess God’s word) and praying in the Spirit (praying in tongues).

These are the spiritual weapons which are mighty for destroying the spiritual strongholds of fear and unbelief in you. You’ll need them!

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#BibleStudy #SpiritualWarfare

God wanted Abraham and his offspring to enjoy the benefits of the covenant (inherit the land of Canaan) without having to do anything except receive it as a gift.
It was an unconditional covenant whereby God would bear all the responsibility of fulfilling the terms of the covenant Himself.

“It came to pass that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. In that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”” ‭‭(Genesis‬ ‭15:17-21‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

The smoking furnace and the flaming torch are not literal, but represents the bright glory of God — God cut the covenant with Himself. How am I so sure of this?

“All of Mount Sinai smoked, because Yahweh descended on it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.” ‭‭(Exodus‬ ‭19:18‬ ‭WEB)

The smoking furnace represents Yahweh (The Lord).
When the Law was given, Yahweh descended onto Mount Sinai, causing the mountain to look like a smoking furnace.
The Law says that anyone who doesn’t obey all its commandments is under a curse.
This represents the holy, righteous side of God which has to punish sin.

“For Zion’s sake I (Isaiah) will not be silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness and vindication go forth as brightness, And her salvation goes forth like a burning torch.” ‭‭(ISAIAH‬ ‭62:1‬ ‭AMP‬‬)

Next, the burning torch represents Jesus. In the verse above, the word “salvation” is Yeshua which is Jesus’ name in Hebrew.
Not only is Jesus our salvation, He is also our righteousness and vindication (Avenger).
Jesus went forth boldly in love to pay for all the sins of the world at the cross.
This represents the loving side of God which caused Him to make a way for mankind to be saved, at His own great expense.

The holiness of God and the love of God cut a covenant. The Offerer is also the Sacrifice.
This was perfectly displayed at the cross, where God’s holiness, righteousness, and love were all magnified and not compromised one bit.

Now, the covenant promises the land of Canaan to Abraham and his offspring. Who are Abraham’s children? Is it the biological children of Israel (the Jews)?

“Know therefore that those who are of faith, the same are children of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the Good News beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you all the nations will be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.” ‭‭(Galatians‬ ‭3:7-9‬ ‭WEB‬‬)

No, the Apostle Paul clarified that those who are of faith are the children of Abraham.
That means you and I who believe in Jesus are children of Abraham and we are heirs of the land of Canaan (Israel)!

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#blessing #faith