I wrote those words a few years ago when I was in the process of buying a new home.  Still, in the process of getting those words from my head to a deeper knowing in my heart, I had to remind myself more than a few times of the truth I was holding onto. 

Jesus called himself the good shepherd.   When he said this, his audience probably knew well the role of a shepherd.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve never met an actual shepherd.  I decided that if I wanted to know more about Jesus, I should learn more about shepherds as I studied the scriptures.  What I found was encouraging- and I hope it encourages you as well.

There are two types of rest:  spiritual and physical.  We need both kinds of rest if we want to be healthy. The following is about spiritual rest.  What does is mean to find rest in God?

Trusting in God’s unfailing love, and believing that he will do for us what we can’t do for ourselves is how we can find rest in God.  God will show us his will for our lives and he will give us the strength to accomplish it.  We don’t need to be constantly striving and achieving on our own strength.

It wasn’t a particularly useful skill, but it was something that I loved doing.  It was my “claim to fame” as a kid, my one impressive trick.  For a while, I was good at diving.  I had a friend, Carrie, who did back flips off the diving board like it was the easiest thing in the world.  One summer day, between fourth and fifth grade, I asked her to teach me how to do what she did. 

Unknowns often make us uncomfortable. Yet they’re a big part of life.  Learning to accept that we can’t control and plan everything that happens to us or to those we love, is necessary if we want to experience the peace that God has for us. We can rest in the promises of God’s Word, trusting it when it says,