Ever had a complete rest? I mean real inner peace that your tired bones crave for, but you can’t seem to find that rest no matter how many self-help books you buy or seminars you attend or afternoon naps you sneak off and catch, you just can’t experience a good, solid rest?

 Well, this week I’m going to give you a practical guide to finding inner peace and living the faith-rest life that you’ve dreamed of. So, suppress that yawn and keep those little peepers open for just a few more minutes my friend and read on.

I think the word ‘rest’ gets thrown around a lot, especially on Sunday’s. Religious people rave on and on about the Sabbath rest, dishing out frosty glares and biased opinions at all the folks who decide to wash their car on a Sunday morning rather than go to church.

Now, don’t go sending me hate mail reminding me that church attendance is important and those heathens who would rather have a clean car than a clean soul are still wrong by not going to church. Yes, I totally agree that attending church is very important. It’s where we get fed with God’s Word and we do life with other believers. But I believe the faith-rest life is so much more. Hebrews 4:1-11 talks about ‘the faith-rest life and how God is asking us to enter into the realm of resting with a confident faith.‘ However, I don’t read anywhere in this scripture that an hour and a half Sunday morning service will give you the faith-rest you so desperately need.

’Now God has offered to us the same promise of entering into his realm of resting in confident faith. So we must be extremely careful to ensure that we all embrace the fullness of that promise and not fail to experience it.’ Hebrews 4:1 (TPT) 

God has offered us the promise of rest. Seems simple enough. So why do we have to be extremely careful to ensure that we don’t miss it? Why has God warned us not to fail to experience this faith-rest He’s talking about?   

Here are three practical steps on how to experience a faith-rest life.   

1. STOP DOUBTING.

Hebrews 4:2 goes on to say, ‘For we have heard the good news of deliverance just as they did, yet they didn’t join their faith with the Word.’ Firstly, the “they” the scripture is talking about is the Israelites who doubted God’s Word that He would defeat their enemies and give them the Promised Land. They complained to God for forty years and never entered the land of ‘rest’ because of their rebellion and unbelief. Verse 6 says that ‘Those who first heard the good news of deliverance failed to enter into the realm of faith’s rest because of their unbelieving hearts.’ 

So, how do you enter into faith-rest? Stop doubting and trust God at His Word. Read the promises in your Bible that He sings over you and let the scriptures seep into your soul. Inner peace starts with trusting God at His Word.   

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2. QUIT THE HUSTLE.

Now, this is where the lines become blurred. To experience the faith-rest life you have to quit the hustle. Yeah, you heard me. I’ll say it slower and a little louder this time okay? QUIT. THE. HUSTLE. 

Remember God’s warning, to be extremely careful we don’t miss what He’s offering? If you’re too busy hustling for your worth and value in people who aren’t your cheerleaders or people who think that pushing you down or pushing you out is what the cool kids do, then you’re not faith-resting in God and you’re missing out. We need to cease from our own works and celebrate in the finished work of Christ.   

 While we’re striving, competing and being driven by our performance-based mindsets we’ll never enter into the faith-rest life.  

‘So we conclude that there is still a full and complete “rest” waiting for believers to experience. As we enter into God’s faith-rest life we cease from our own works, just as God celebrates his finished works and rests in them.’Hebrews 4:9-10 (TPT)

      “Lose the hustle start using your muscle”  (spiritual muscle that is)

  3. HANG AROUND PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE SAME VISION.

Because of the Israelites unbelief and reluctance to step into the Promised Land that God gave to them, Joshua and Caleb entered the Promised Land forty years after they had told everyone to have courage, believe God at His Word and possess the land that was full of milk and honey. Forty years! How frustrating! 

To live a faith-rest life you need to hang around people who have the same vision. You’ll feel the inner peace that only God can provide when you’re doing life with the brave and courageous ones. God takes you through a refining and cleansing process to build your faith up which brings with it the faith-rest that only God can give. No more striving and hustling. Faith-rest comes from grit and determination that you’re going to step up and step into everything God has waiting for you, and grasping with both hands the inner peace you need.

So there we have it, your three-step practical guide to finding inner peace…

You’re welcome! 

Wendy xo