When I led a team to the Holy Land in February, the Holy Spirit spoke these words to me: “The earth is groaning louder in Israel.”

I shared it with a few people and have been praying on it. I knew immediately the Holy Spirit was pointing me to Romans 8:22-24:

“We know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. Not only that, but we also, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan within ourselves while eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For we are saved through hope, but hope that is seen is not hope, for why does a man still hope for what he sees?”

The whole creation includes the earth, stars, plants, animals and human beings. But the Holy Spirit specifically pointed to the earth groaning in Israel, and even louder in Israel than in other places.

What does this mean? It means we’re edging closer to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. After Joel prophesied about God pouring out His spirit on all flesh and people prophesying, having dreams and visions in Joel 2:28-29, he prophesied about the end times in verses 30-32:

“Then I will work wonders in the heavens and the earth—blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awe-inspiring day of the Lord comes. And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors whom the Lord calls.” {eoa}

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It is amazing how a change of circumstances can reveal what is in our hearts. If people all over the world only had to adjust to living with social distancing and having their interactions with friends and family members largely through digital means, it would have been a huge change.

But on top of social changes and the feeling of being somewhat disconnected, we are also dealing with many other changes. Our economy is being drastically affected. Many of us are working from home instead of in our offices. Restaurants and coffee houses are either closed or only serving drive-up or delivery. Even our politicians seem to be working together.

It remains to be seen if what they are doing is good for us or not, but they are working together. And if you are like me, your email mailbox is full of emails from every company you have ever emailed or done business with telling you all of the efforts they are making to keep you safe.

These changes would be overwhelming if they happened one at a time, but this time they have happened all at once. Even for people of faith, so many things shifting can even, if for only a moment, allow the ground to shift under our feet.

All of this made me think about King David. King David was, according to the Scriptures in 1 Samuel 13:14 (TLV), “a man after [G-D’s] own heart.”

Acts 13:22 says: “After removing him, He raised up David to be their king. He also testified about him and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do My will.'”

When we think about King David, many of us think first about his battle with Goliath and how with a sling and stone David fought and killed that giant of a man. Yet when King David was confronted with a spiritual enemy—lust—instead of a physical enemy, it was David who fell in defeat.

We read about David’s fall in 2 Samuel 11. In this passage, David lusts after and then uses his power as king to rape Bathsheba, and then goes on to murder her husband Uriah.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that, while David committed rape and murder, he was acting as a man after G-D’s own heart. Yes, David later repents of his sin and is restored through G-D’s amazing grace. But David, even if only for a short time, fell to sin as dramatically as Goliath fell when David’s stone hit his head.

You see, we believers in Yeshua are just like David. Sometimes we are filled with the power of the Ruach (Spirit) and power of G-D like David was in 1 Samuel 17:45: “You are coming to me with a sword, a spear and a javelin, but I am coming to you in the Name of Adonai-Tzva’ot, God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”

While other times, we, like David, allow our situations and circumstances to get the best of us and, as David did, we fall into sin.

As we all navigate the next few weeks, months and years, struggling to stand upright on the shifting sands caused by all of the things we once believed were stable, it is important that we all remember that every day we have to make the choice.

Will we be like David when he killed Goliath, or will we be like David when he raped Bathsheba and killed Uriah? {eoa}

Eric Tokajer is author of With Me in Paradise, Transient Singularity, OY! How Did I Get Here?: Thirty-One Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before Entering Ministry, #ManWisdom: With Eric Tokajer, Jesus Is to Christianity as Pasta Is to Italians and Galatians in Context.

After seeking God through other religions for many years, Mike Shreve finally came to Jesus and true salvation through the cross ended his search. Then fifteen years later, a revelation in God’s Word changed his life forever: He is who God says he is.

He realized that as a Bible believer, he was more than a conqueror, the anointed of the Lord and the apple of God’s eye. And, he realized, nobody could take that away from him, or the unmerited grace he received through the death and resurrection of Christ. But with that realization 35 years ago, he says, he also realized there were some things required of him.

“As long as you do your part, you will either live above sin or recover from sin,” Shreve, a former yoga instructor and now author, told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “One way or the other, grace is going to make you victorious. Ephesians 2:8 says by grace you are saved through faith.

“So, one requirement to receive God’s grace is to have faith. You have to tenaciously believe in the cross and believe in the blood and believe in the mercy of God, or you get beat up by life.

“That is counterbalanced by the second requirement, humility. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. So, you can’t manipulate grace to fit a sinful lifestyle and try to get by with it. Because the second requirement is humility: You must humble yourself before God with submission and meekness before Him.

“And then, the third requirement is sincere love. You’re not trying to cause God’s Word to fit your lifestyle. You’re sincerely in love with Him, so you want to fit His mandates for your life. Ephesians 6:24 says, ‘Grace be with all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.’ So, you have faith, humility and sincerity. Those three attitudes of heart position you to receive God’s grace.”

Tune in to Shreve’s podcast, Discover Your Spiritual Identity. And for more of his thoughts on God’s grace, listen to this entire podcast.

During this time where the entire world is fearful and panicky due to COVID-19, Lisa Bevere says it’s the perfect opportunity for the church to show what it is made of—the strength of the Lord.

Co-founder of Messenger International Ministries along with her husband, John, Bevere says she believes God is shaking the church during the coronavirus pandemic to “wake us up” and to “remove things” from believers’ lives that are keeping them stuck in apathy and kingdom mediocrity. She says God is restoring our foundation because we are moving into a season of harvest, and that social distancing can actually be the spark many need.

“I actually believe being in isolation is one of the ways to recover our strength,” Bevere told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “When we can actually step back, it’s a gift.

“So, I have actually felt like God is saying, ‘Let’s take this time to get strong. Let’s go into the season in one way, but let’s expose the weaknesses and turn them into places of strength. Let’s actually let the light of God’s Word shine on any place, any idol that you may think is your source of strength.’ Through this, you may just discover that you can’t trust in that.

“Also, I think people have this chance to say, hey, wait. Christianity is not just this little celebrity culture where we like each other’s posts or we retweet them. This is a battle.

“This is a time for the church to shine. This is a time for us to rise up in strength. This is a time for us to remember where our strength comes from. This is a time for God to say to us, ‘All right, this is when you actually get to show your strength.’ We don’t always show our strengths when all is bright and easy. We, as children of God, need to show our strengths when there is a struggle like this.”

For more of Bevere’s thoughts on walking in strength during this struggle, listen to the entire podcast.

Today, as we prayed and talked, this is what God was speaking to my and Karen’s heart: “Reset!”

It is time to reset everything.

We have been given a reprieve from the treadmill of life. Now we must decide to lean into the voice of God and develop a new normal! Now, we must rethink everything.

“And then, after your brief suffering, the God of all loving grace, who has called you to share in his eternal glory in Christ, will personally and powerfully restore you and make you stronger than ever. Yes, he will set you firmly in place and build you up” (1 Pet. 5:10, TPT).

Reset What You Considered

Prayer time – Get to know God in a deeper and more profound way! Go deep! Let this be your Psalm 42:6-7, “Deep calls out to deep” season. Pray the Lord’s Prayer! Commune with God and He will show up. James 4:6 (MEV) says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you!” Praise Him for already providing the antidote.

Family time – Use this time to get to know each other again! Listen more than you talk. Laugh more than you cry. Play together again. Most importantly, pray together again! Psalm 127:1 (ESV) says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”

The valuable – Possessions and things of this world cannot compare to what God has in store for you. Store up treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:19-20). Sow into your church! Stay faithful!

Your purpose – It isn’t about the stage or the crowd; it is about being His hands and feet! Rethink how you have done life. Remember, if the stage can seduce you, then it can also reduce you. Be confident in the fact that you are Christ’s ambassador! (2 Cor. 5:20). Remember, Saul who became Paul disappeared for three years and came out as a new man, ready to change the world. Isolation redefined purpose.

Your success – Your value comes from your heavenly Father and not people, options or the plaudits of man. Maybe this is the season to rewrite your resume! Could this be the nudge from heaven that causes you to shift your job and profession? Maybe, it is time to realize that it is God who gives you the ability to create wealth (Deut. 8:18). He takes joy in your prosperity (Ps. 35:27).

Your wealth – He has got you. There is no bankruptcy sign in heaven. He is the great employer. He still knows the recipe to manna!

Your fellowship – We have one heart and one body in Christ! (Rom. 12:5). Let’s come together! Forget politics! Forget things that do not matter. Let’s spur each other on in good works (Heb. 10:24).

Our vision – Now is the time look through the eyes of God and not our own. Pick up the spiritual telescope and see that God has a plan for revival to hit the land! Write down your vision.

Your inheritance matters to God!

Let this be our promise: “[About God’s faithfulness,] Yahweh says: “When the time of showing you favor has come, I will answer your heart’s cry. I will help you in the day of salvation, for I have fixed my eyes on you. I have made you a covenant people to restore the land and to resettle families on forgotten inheritances” (Isa. 49:8, TPT).

Let’s reset! Maybe after we reset, we will see the breakthrough! {eoa}

Read more from Evangelist Pat Schatzline on his blog site, . Go online today and purchase Pat and Karen Schatzline’s newest book, Restore the Roar, at .

Watch and listen to powerful messages by Evangelist Karen Schatzline by going to their YouTube channel, Pat and Karen Schatzline, or click: .

Please allow me to briefly review the introductory factors I mentioned last time about the biblical belief in the immortality of the soul and the body—in a glorified, resurrected form.

It is this unique doctrine of the Resurrection that Christians reaffirm every Easter, and which I would like to pursue with you in this short series about Resurrection realities from the 15th chapter of the New Testament’s book of 1 Corinthians.

As I suggested last time, you might like to use a modern translation or paraphrase to review these basic premises Paul presents and which we will consider in these four studies:

—The importance of the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:1-11).

—The necessity of the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:12-19).

—The assurance of the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20-28).

—The nature of the eesurrected body (1 Cor. 15:35-58).

Resurrection Realities No. 2: The Necessity of the Resurrection

As we read last time in verses 12-19 of 1 Corinthians 15, we learned that some in the local Corinthian congregation were either denying the resurrection of Christ or doubting whether they and other Christians would actually be resurrected also (v. 12). Apparently, this was being argued by some, without realizing the implications this had on their own faith and future.

Perhaps some had been infected with doubt by Jewish critics, who had long theorized that Jesus did not really die, but that He had merely fainted or swooned on the cross and was naturally revived when placed in the cool tomb. Others said that the disciples had hallucinated or had a vision. Some thought Jesus’ spirit may have returned to encourage His disciples, but not in a resurrected body. The empty tomb was explained away by others as a giant hoax, with the body stolen by the Jews, the Romans, the disciples or maybe Joseph of Arimathea (John 19:38-42).

The best option of all for this supreme event of history is that the bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ is a fact (John 20:1-18)! He was raised from the dead, historically and bodily, by the supernatural power of God, just as the apostle Paul relates in 1 Corinthians 15:3-11!

Challenging Our Doubts

In faithfully confronting this matter in Corinth, Paul assumed the false premise that there is no resurrection and bluntly pointed out four negative and hypothetical “ifs,” which they and we must face.

First, if there is no resurrection from the dead, then Jesus, who he called Christ (meaning the Anointed One), had not risen and everything Paul had taught them and everything they believed is “empty,” without value or truthfulness. How could they trust anything else Paul had taught?

Secondly, if there is no resurrection from the dead, then Paul and his fellow ministers are “false witnesses” about God being able to forgive our sins and raise Jesus and us from the dead to eternal life. All we have is the here and now. Personal pleasure might as well be our creed and practice.

Thirdly, if Jesus did not conquer death, hell and the grave, then Jesus’ death did not gain our salvation and “we are all still in our sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). We and “those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (v. 18). If this were true, then sin killed Jesus and it will kill us and all who have believed in vain.

Fourth, and finally, if after living for God and trusting in His promises of eternal life, and there is, in fact, no resurrection from the dead, then any benefits or blessings we have received are for this life only and we are left as miserable souls, deserving of scornful pity (v. 19).

Are You a Doubter?

Before we move on to study the good news and assurances of the resurrection, we need to conquer any similarities we may have with the negative thinking of some Corinthian saints, producing critical fractures in their faith—and ours.

So, may I ask if you are a doubter? Maybe not a doubter in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but about God’s love or His willingness to forgive you—yet again?

Or what about God’s willingness or ability to heal your body? Or to defend us from the consequences of this Wuhan COVID-19 virus? Or to change your marriage? Or improve your finances and provide your material needs?

Let me confidently remind you that our God is willing and able to meet you with truth and power, to give you victory in your circumstances. Hear these truths for discouraged and doubting exiles needing hope and help:

“For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord, plans for peace and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. … You shall seek Me and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:11-13).

Talk with Him, right now, about the issues of life and death with which you may be struggling. He says in verse 12, “… Then you shall call upon Me, and you shall come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” Receive His love, compassion and gracious touch for your point of prayer!

Join with me again next time, when we continue this “Resurrection Realities” series with the assurance of the resurrection. {eoa}

Ordained to the ministry in 1969, Gary Curtis is a graduate of LIFE Bible College at Los Angeles (soon to become Life Pacific University at San Dimas, California). He has taken graduate courses at Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois, and Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California. Gary served as part of the pastoral staff of The Church on The Way, the First Foursquare Church of Van Nuys, California, for 27 years (1988-2015); and served for the last 13 years as the vice president of Life on The Way Communications Inc., the church’s not-for-profit media outreach. Now retired, Gary and his wife have been married for 50 years and live in Southern California. They have two married daughters and five grandchildren.

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Living in Louisiana, Pastor Michael Green is no stranger to cultural and environmental adversity. Years ago, Hurricane Katrina disrupted many lives, including those of Green and his family.

And now, the coronavirus has hit Louisiana hard, and it looks as though the cancellation of Easter services in two weeks is a foregone conclusion. But God is still on the throne, the pastor at LifeGate Church in Metairie says, and it’s up to believers to carry God’s banner high to show that He is in control and will help us weather this pandemic.

And the best way to do that, Green says, is via fervent prayer and encouragement for those struggling with fear and despondency over a very uncertain future for America.

“What I am asking all believers to do is to call three people a day, speak faith and encourage, and let that be a loud voice in their ear,” Green told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “There is a fear level, and you’ll continue to see more of that as this thing continues.

“But we are still on the front lines, even though we are not meeting for services, and we’ve got to do our part to let people know that God is still with us and will never forsake us. He will bring us through this storm.

“I think we need to remind ourselves of the songs we sing, like, ‘How Great is Our God?’ I was quoting, ‘On Christ the solid rock I stand.’ The thing is, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Don’t lose your song. Like the children of Israel, we’re in a strange land right now. But the Word of the Lord is alive. Don’t block the song; don’t block the Word.”

For more of Michael Green’s thoughts on how we should deal with fear and discouragement during this pandemic, listen to the entire podcast.

If fear has gripped your soul, perhaps it would be beneficial to remind yourself that you are loved completely, fully and eternally by the one who knows you the very best!

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Rom. 8:35).

Run into the arms of Christ’s love whenever fear threatens to mar the landscape of your glorious future. Remind yourself over and over and over again that there is nothing that has been created or imagined that is able to diminish His love for you or that has the influence to disconnect you from His love.

His love surrounds you like a shield, and His care is well able to dismantle any of the enemy’s schemes concerning your life. You are not the only believer in all of recorded history who has had to look fear in the eye and say, “Get out of my way in the name of the Lord!”

The prophet Daniel was a victim of persecution, but God never left him; He took care of him even in a den of roaring and ravenous lions.

The distress Queen Esther encountered when she was made privy to a plot in which her entire people group was about to be assassinated is unlike anything you or I have ever faced. Yet God was with her, and when she prayed and fasted, He gave her a divine strategy to wreck the murderous plot.

The patriarch Joseph lived during one of the worst famines in all of human history, yet the Bible tells us that God was with him. The Lord gave Joseph the wisdom and the ability to provide for God’s people when the world seemed to be falling apart.

King Jehoshaphat faced the swords of enemy forces that had the ability to wipe out his entire nation, but God protected him and his people when they chose to worship rather than give in to a spirit of fear.

If God protected and provided for Daniel, Esther, Joseph and Jehoshaphat, He will certainly do the same for you! Your God is the God of Noah and Moses and Samson; of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. What God has done before, He will do again—of this, you can be very sure!

“Just as it is written, ‘For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Rom. 8:36–37, NASB).

The Bible does not promise us that, as Christians, we will never suffer, but it does promise us that the love of God will always be our companion. Think about that for a minute!

The love of God is yours in extravagant and immeasurable amounts, and nothing is able to take it from you. You are surrounded by God’s love, so rest in that place of unconditional love and dismiss fear with a wave of your authoritative hand. Even when we are facing a difficult or unwelcome situation, we are given the ability to “overwhelmingly conquer”!

We can overcome in every situation, in every disappointment and in every hardship because of His great love for us. We don’t overcome due to our stunning good looks or our extraordinary IQs. It is not perfect marriages or flawless children that lead us into triumph. Neither is it stable finances, stellar educations or well-developed talents that give us the power to overcome.

It is the love of God, which is lavishly given to us every day and for every situation.

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39).

Paul and the Holy Spirit chose to use an extremely powerful word in their closing ovation to the love of God. They used the word “convinced.” Paul didn’t say, “I think I will never be separated from the love of God.”

The Holy Spirit did not nudge that great and learned apostle to declare, “I hope that I will never be separated from the love of God.” Paul and his divine writing companion did not even choose to close with, “I believe that I will never be separated from the love of God.”

Paul was convinced beyond a shadow of eternal doubt that the all-consuming love of the Father was an unshakable power and a perpetual presence in his life.

The Holy Spirit moved upon the spirit of Paul to firmly claim, in effect, “I know that I know that I know that I know that absolutely nothing will ever have the power to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus my Lord!” So take that, fear!

In a courtroom, merely one argument is never satisfactory to absolutely convince a judge of a statement’s validity. Paul uses the language of the lawyer in this phrase and presents his case beyond a shadow of a doubt. The word “convinced” is credibly arrived at only when everything proves it! That is why heaven is incredulous that a man or a woman who professes faith in Jesus Christ would ever be consumed with fear.

Every person in the Bible who was called to do something great for the kingdom of God heard the oft-uttered and divinely powerful words, “Do not fear!”

Abraham was told “Do not fear” when the Lord called him to move away from his home, and again when God told him that he was going to miraculously have a son.

Moses heard those emboldening words from the Lord, “Do not fear” when he was facing an enemy who had the power to destroy the people of God.

Joshua heard God tell him “Do not fear” when he led the entire nation of Israel into the promised land.

David probably heard from the Lord some version of that trio of power-packed words too many times to count.

Likewise, during the events before Christ’s birth, Zechariah, Joseph and Mary were all encouraged by God not to be afraid.

As human beings, we all deal with fear at challenging junctures in life, but God doesn’t want us to remain in those places of paralyzing anxiety, dread or terror. He has called us out of fear and into His great love for us. {eoa}

Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women’s conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical, biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written 11 books, including Significant, StormProof and Guide Your Mind, Guard Your Heart, Grace Your Tongue. Her teaching DVD The Rooms of a Woman’s Heart won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming.

Pastor Brady Boyd has seen his share of adversity within the church. He took over the leadership of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, 12 years ago in the midst of a huge scandal and helped nurse that church back to kingdom health.

But now, Boyd says, the overall church is dealing with a different heartache—indifference to the lost. Many of today’s believers—so-called Christ-followers—simply don’t care about unsaved and the unchurched. Those people have taken notice, and have, for the most part, deemed the church “unimportant.”

“God gave us the Great Commandment to love your neighbor,” Boyd told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenelines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “In the culture, when people who are not attending church look at the lives of those who are attending and following Jesus, they don’t see anything remarkable. They don’t see a big difference. They don’t think the church offers any solutions to their lives. And the reason that has happened is because the people who are considered devoted Christ-followers have lost their sense of witness and being present.”

“We must reflect upon the goodness and glory of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and put [ourselves] in the position of being a witness. We must love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves. And what opportunity we have right now during this virus to do just that, to make sure in this time that we have that our hearts have been consecrated to God.

“We must also make sure that our mission focus in on our neighbor. The Great Commandment actually preceded the Great Commission. So, we will never fulfill the Great Commission unless we first become Great Commandment people.”

For more of Pastor Brady Boyd’s thoughts on the Great Commandment, listen to the entire podcast.

The phrase “resting in God” means to give the Lord absolute control over our lives and futures. This shows God that we fully trust in Him and His purposes for us.

Only God knows the future, and He alone is in control. That’s why we need to learn to surrender to Him and give Him our worries, just as Jesus taught us in Matthew 6.

Stress is always connected to an area of our life that we have not yet surrendered to God. Often, we experience stress because of the struggle that exists between our flesh (our fallen, human nature, which we continue to battle against in this life) and our spirit (our inner being, made alive in Christ). If we do not surrender a particular area to God, it becomes a heavy burden to us.

When we rest in God, we can have peace and joy in any circumstance, knowing that He is taking care of our needs as we continue to do our part—whatever comes under our human responsibilities. The greatest blessings come when we rest in God’s love, goodness and faithfulness.

Casting Our Care on God

The Bible speaks of God’s rest when it says, “Cast all your care upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). What does it mean to “cast” our cares or anxieties upon God? It means to relinquish our worry, recognizing that we don’t need to resolve matters in our own strength. We can place our absolute trust in Him to work on our behalf. If situations in our business, church, work, family or health are causing us stress, we must immediately commit them to God.

We should know that as long as we hold on to our worries, the enemy will increase the pressure against us, bringing these concerns to our mind over and over again and creating an oppressive pattern of stress. When we enter into such a cycle, that is when stress becomes a spiritual issue.

One of the evidences of demonic activity in a person’s life is impatience, lack of rest and lack of sleep. If the enemy manages to rob us of our peace—and with it, our sleep—stress becomes inevitable. Little by little, a lack of rest opens the way to demonic activity. As we give ourselves fully to God, cycles of stress can be broken.

Jesus’ Yoke Is Easy

Jesus understands what we are going through. That is why He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28–30).

When we follow a path that is the opposite of God’s will, we carry a very heavy burden. Even our thought patterns adapt to the burden we carry and prevent us from seeing a way out. But today, Jesus tells us, “Give Me the burden that the world has placed on you or you have taken on yourself—the burden that oppresses and enslaves you—and in return, I will give you My ‘yoke,’ which is easy, and My ‘burden,’ which is light.”

Times of Refreshing

The apostle Peter said: “Therefore repent and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

We experience times of refreshing or rest by remaining in the “presence of the Lord,” because it is in His presence where we find all we need. In Psalm 23, David describes the Lord as a good Shepherd, who provides everything necessary for His sheep so they will not have anything to worry about. The book of Psalms also reveals that, in addition to rest, being in God’s presence gives us joy: “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

Signs of Resting in God

There are three unmistakable signs that we have entered into the rest of God:

1. We have peace. When we repent of our sins and receive God’s forgiveness, He fills us with His peace. When we give God our burdens, He lifts them from us and gives us His peace. When we surrender our will to Him, He fulfills His will in our lives and immerses us in His peace. The peace we receive is not just a peace in which there is an absence of conflict. Instead, it is a peace that elevates us above any conflict and leads us to transcend the natural and live in the spiritual.
2. We worship God. Heartfelt worship arises from being in a place of intimacy with God. When we are living in God’s rest, we do not worship Him only when things are going well and we have no problems. Rather, even in the midst of the harshest storm or the darkest night of our life, we choose to give Him the place of preeminence and worship Him in that place of rest.

There are times when we may start to worship God in the flesh, doing it in our own strength with our mind, body or emotions, because stress is controlling us. However, seeing our genuine desire to worship Him, God will send His Holy Spirit to come and help us to worship Him “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). When this happens, our stress fades away as we enter into the rest of God’s presence.

If you are facing situations that cause you stress, you urgently need to enter God’s presence. When you go to your Source, He will remove every burden, because in His presence, there is total provision.

3. We continuously allow God to be in control. Jesus’ sacrifice opened the way so that all who believe in Him and confess Him as Lord and Savior of their lives can enter into God’s presence. When we are in the presence of the Lord, nothing that might happen around us or in the world can cause us to enter into a cycle of worry or fear, because we know that God is in control.

When we are stressed, we cannot see, hear or discern what is happening in the spiritual world; our spiritual senses are blocked, and we only perceive what is occurring in the natural realm. However, when we enter into the rest of the Lord, we live in continual anticipation of seeing the next thing that God will do. We do not conform to the impossibilities declared by natural minds, but we faithfully expect the Lord to act. The greatest miracle we can experience is to see God do what is impossible for us.

You will not see how God is acting in your favor until you commit to resting in Him, releasing your worries to His care. This is not something that is achieved overnight; it takes time and persistence to change the way we handle problems and to understand the full meaning of “resting.” In one sense, resting in God’s presence makes us spectators of what He is doing.

However, this doesn’t mean that we are to be indifferent as we wait for His intervention, because He desires that we participate in His purposes. Rather, it means learning to daily live by faith, always expecting the “something new” that He will do. {eoa}

Edited excerpts from Stress-Free Living, © 2019 by Guillermo Maldonado, published by Whitaker House. Used with permission.

Active in ministry for over 20 years, bestselling author apostle Guillermo Maldonado is the founder of King Jesus International Ministry—one of the fastest-growing multicultural churches in the United States—which has been recognized for its visible manifestations of God´s supernatural power. He is a spiritual father to 400 churches in 70 countries, which form the Supernatural Global Network. He is also the founder of the University of the Supernatural Ministry (USM). Apostle Maldonado has a doctorate in Christian counseling and a master’s degree in practical theology. He resides in Miami, Florida, with his wife and partner in ministry, Ana, and their two sons, Bryan and Ronald. Visit