Topic: Enjoy Rest in Marriage (Part 1)
Dear Reader,
This is a glorious day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it. It will be a day of rest, laughter, rejoicing and fulfillment for you. I am so excited today about what God is expounding to His people. He says there is a place of rest in Him. He says, you have been battered and wounded enough, come around and obtain rest for your soul. In your family life, career and businesses, children and finances, there is rest for you.
You have run around enough. You have carried that burden for too long and you keep running helter-skelter just to survive. God says for the remaining part this year, He has prepared a place of rest for you and your family. I pray that you will see it and enter into it in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Today, I shall be examining the place of rest. Where is this place of rest? How do you get there? What does it take to get there? These are the things God wants to expound to us today. I pray that your eyes of understanding will be enlightened, and every unrest in your life and family will be destroyed.
What is rest? How can you say you are restful? A state of rest is to be at peace or at ease; a state of tranquillity. Jesus said: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).
Rest is obtainable, but only in Christ. You have been battered by the happenings all around you. Jesus invites you to come unto Him, if you desire rest. I don’t know what has been responsible for your unrest; you can be free today. No matter the mountain, no matter how big the burden has been, Jesus, the burden-bearer, invites you to come. The Bible says: Whatsoever the Lord doeth shall be forever (Ecclesiastes 3:14). When Jesus carries your burden for you, you can be rest assured that the case is settled for ever. All He requires of you is to come to Him. Come with the faith that He can do it; come with hope and He can never fail. That thing that causes you heartache, makes you sigh and shed secret tears, see Jesus walking by your side and lifting those burdens off you and giving you liberty. He says He will do it, not he may or he will try. It is His absolute desire to give you rest in life.
He said: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).It is the thief (devil) that is giving you unrest. His ministry is to kill, to steal and to destroy. Jesus, the author of life says, if you now come to Him, He will give you what the devil cannot access.
Maybe, as a student, you have been writing a particular exam several times, and the result is always the same. It has become a yoke in your life and a burden to you. Maybe, yours is in the area of finances, you wake up every morning, no breakfast, lunch not in view, not because you are fasting, but because there is nothing to eat. See Jesus take off this yoke from you and be free. All it takes is to come to him. See what the Bible says: Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (Isaiah 55:1-2).Stop running helter-skelter, come to Jesus. Who is Jesus? He is The Word of God made flesh.
The Word of God is the water of life. Take refuge in the Word against all odds of life and every form of unrest. Is it a spouse’s ungodly behaviour or action? Is it a child’s unruly behaviour bothering you? Is it in the area of your finances? All you have to do is to turn to the Word. There is no rest in any other place; true and absolute rest can only be found in the Word of God. God has declared this year as your own year of turning point. A genuine turning point only comes from a restful soul. God cannot lie; it is your duty to allow His Word to produce in your own life. As many families as will care to find rest in God’s Word this year, they shall have cause to turn all-round.
For instance, every night, when you go to bed, you look through the window more than ten times you do more work when you sleep than when you are awake. Every bit of noise you hear wakes you up. This is not rest. Your protection is not in your looking out, neither is it in your jumping out, rather, sure protection comes from the Word of God. The Word says when you sleep, your sleep shall be sweet and nothing shall make you afraid. God cannot lie.
Maybe you are the type that each time you are on the road travelling, all kinds of picture come to your mind and you begin to picture every kind of accident. Then your heart begins to pant and skip a beat; this ought not to be so. Jesus says, “Come unto me.” It is in coming that you will have total rest either on the road, in the air or on the sea. Come to Him today. Dedicate your family to Him. Hand over all your children to Him. When your children travel to school, your mind is not at rest again. You begin to imagine all sorts of evil, accident, kidnap, immoralities, etc. When you and your family members come to Jesus on the basis of His Word, you all have a sure covering in his blood! You can be rest assured that your children, your business, all that belongs to you would not suffer what the people of the world suffer.
How do you come to Jesus? The Bible Says: If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10). It doesn’t take more than this to have perfect rest all around you. Make a wise decision today. Accept the Lord Jesus as your own personal Lord and Saviour. Make Him the Lord of your entire household and be at rest.
The Scripture above says you should confess with your mouth, and then believe what you have said in your heart. If you are not yet born again and you desire to do so right now, please pray this prayer with faith in your heart: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for delivering me from sin and satan to serve the living God and thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.
Congratulations! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are now born again and a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).
With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ Name! Call or write to share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org, 07026385437 OR 08141320204.
For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building a Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).
“Please click HERE to read other inspiring articles by Pastor Faith Oyedepo”
Pastor Faith Oyedepo is the wife of Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, and Senior Pastor of Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, Nigeria.
