And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭33:14

We must desire to have God’s presence with us, always. In Exodus 33:13 we find Moses asking God to show him the way. To which God answered by not only showing the way but also confirming His Presence with him.

But what if someone loses God’s presence? That person will end up in a deep sleep spiritually. This sleep isn’t something like Adam and Abraham had experienced. God had made them to sleep, in a literal sense, for His work to be done on them. But the deep sleep mentioned here spiritually refers to going far away from God and His Presence.

In the Scriptures, there was one person who lost his place and began wandering. He wasn’t someone ordinary. He was an Angel. He was always with God and in His Presence. Unfortunately he gave room for “I” in his thoughts and fell. God threw him out of heaven. Even today he’s restless and is roaming around like a roaring lion, seeking to devour.

SO HOW DO WE GET THIS REST?

1. Mathew 11:28 - Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. These are words of Jesus specifically to those souls who don’t know Christ and are burdened with life - kids, family, future, job etc etc.

To such Jesus says, Come unto me. The burdens of this world will take away our rest. But Jesus carried all our burdens upon Himself on the Cross. Come to Jesus and find your rest in Him.

2. Psalms 16:9 - Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. This was the experience of David, an Old Testament saint. By obeying God in water baptism, our flesh rests in hope. In water baptism the Old Man is crucified. This means the body of sin is destroyed.

The old sinful natures are crucified with Christ when we go into the water to be baptised. And thereby we get rest in our body. That’s why St. Paul says in Galatians 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.

3. Isaiah 28:11,12 - For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

Another type of rest explained by Prophet Isaiah. A New Testament child of God experiences this rest in his spirit. Jesus came into this world, died, was buried, ascended up to the Father, interceded for us and sent the Comforter, Holy Spirit, for us. Through baptism of the Holy Spirit we begin speaking in tongues and this gives rest to our soul.

... to be continued