From Turmoil to Tranquility: My Journey into the Lord’s Rest
Isaac Megbolugbe
September 16, 2025
Introduction
My life has been a testament to the power of perseverance and faith in the face of adversity. For years, I faced a relentless barrage of rejections, oppositions, sabotage, and betrayal. These experiences could have broken me, but instead, they drove me to develop courage, endurance, and resilience. However, the more I succeeded, the more intense the attacks became. People sought to harm me, and I faced numerous challenges, including motor accidents, lightning strikes, personal losses, and financial struggles.
Despite these trials, I emerged stronger, but not without scars. My life and career were significantly impacted, and my footprint was diminished. Yet, in the midst of this turmoil, something remarkable happened. I entered the Lord’s rest.
Entering the Lord’s Rest
As I navigated the challenges of my life, I began to realize that my sufficiency and satisfaction could not be found in earthly pleasures or accomplishments. My passions and ambitions, which once drove me, began to lose their appeal. I lost interest in romance and worldly pursuits. Instead, my longing became primarily for the Lord. I found peace and joy in His presence, and my equilibrium became unshakeable, even in turbulent circumstances.
The Promises of God’s Rest
As I entered the Lord’s rest, I began to understand the promises that accompany it. God’s rest is not just a physical state, but a spiritual one. It’s a place of peace, tranquility, and joy, where one’s sufficiency is rooted in the Lord. In this rest, I found that I was no longer controlled by my circumstances, but by God’s presence in my life.
The Power of God’s Rest
The power of God’s rest is transformative. It changes one’s perspective, priorities, and values. It’s a rest that is not dependent on external circumstances, but on the internal peace and joy that comes from knowing God. In this rest, I found that I was able to face challenges with courage and confidence, knowing that God was in control.
Conclusion
My journey into the Lord’s rest has been a remarkable one. It’s a journey that has taught me the importance of trusting in God, rather than relying on my own strength and abilities. As I look back on my life, I realize that the challenges I faced were not just opportunities for growth, but also opportunities to deepen my relationship with God. May my testimony be a blessing to others, and may it point them to the power of God’s rest.
Key Takeaways:
1. God’s rest is transformative: It changes one’s perspective, priorities, and values.
2. God’s rest is not dependent on external circumstances: It’s a rest that is rooted in the internal peace and joy that comes from knowing God.
3. God’s rest requires trust: It requires trusting in God’s sovereignty and goodness, rather than relying on one’s own strength and abilities.
4. God’s rest is a place of peace and joy: It’s a place where one’s sufficiency is rooted in the Lord, and where they can face challenges with courage and confidence.
Reflection Questions:
1. What challenges have you faced in your life, and how have you responded to them?
2. How has your relationship with God impacted your life, and what role does He play in your times of challenge and uncertainty?
3. What does God’s rest mean to you, and how do you experience it in your life?
4. How can you apply the principles of God’s rest to your life, and what benefits can you expect to experience?
Anxiety and Fears as Diagnostic Signals for Building Faith and Trust
As a prelude to entering God’s rest, many experience a preponderance of anxieties and fears in life. Interestingly, these emotions can serve as diagnostic signals that reveal the state of one’s faith and trust in God and His promises. Anxiety and fears can act as indicators of how believers perceive God’s control, power, and promises in their lives.
The Role of Anxiety and Fears in Faith
– Natural Responses: Anxiety and fears are natural human emotions arising from uncertainty, danger, or the unknown.
– Indicators of Faith: In the context of faith, these emotions can indicate how much one trusts in God’s sovereignty and power.
– Biblical Perspective: The Bible acknowledges fear and anxiety but encourages trust in God’s sovereignty and power (Isaiah 41:10, Philippians 4:6-7).
Revealing Faith and Trust through Choices
– Responses to Anxiety/Fear: Choices made when anxious or fearful reveal the level of faith and trust invested in God’s sovereignty.
– Turning to God: Turning to God in prayer, seeking His peace and guidance, reflects trust in His promises and provision.
Building Faith and Trust through Anxiety and Fears
– Increase Trust: Recognizing God’s sovereignty in anxiety can calm fears.
– Deepen Faith: Trusting God’s promises can reduce anxiety.
– Experience God’s Peace: Seeking God in anxiety and fear can lead to peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7).
Conclusion
Anxiety and fears can be diagnostic signals helping believers evaluate and build faith and trust in God. By choosing to trust God in anxiety and fear, believers invest in faith and trust in His sovereignty, leading to a deeper relationship with God and greater peace amidst challenges.
Obedience and Affinity for Righteousness: Key Ingredients for Practicing Faith and Trust
Obedience to God’s commands and an affinity for righteousness are fundamental components in the practice of faith and trust in God. These elements are crucial for cultivating a lifestyle that reflects a deepening relationship with God and for developing habits of faith and trust that become habitual and reliable.
The Role of Obedience
Obedience to God is a demonstration of faith and trust in His sovereignty and wisdom. The Bible emphasizes the importance of obedience to God’s commands as a way of showing love and trust in Him (John 14:15, Deuteronomy 28:1-2). Obedience is not merely about following rules but about aligning one’s life with God’s will and purposes.
Affinity for Righteousness
An affinity for righteousness reflects a desire to live in accordance with God’s standards of justice, morality, and holiness. Pursuing righteousness is a key aspect of the Christian walk, as it involves seeking to do what is right in God’s sight and cultivating a character that reflects God’s nature (Matthew 5:6, 2 Timothy 3:16-17). An affinity for righteousness helps in developing a lifestyle that honors God.
Practicing Faith and Trust
When obedience and an affinity for righteousness are practiced, they contribute to making faith and trust in God more habitual and reliable. Through consistent practice:
– Faith becomes more ingrained: Regular obedience and pursuit of righteousness deepen trust in God.
– Trust becomes more reliable: As we obey and pursue righteousness, our reliance on God becomes a habitual part of life.
– Character is formed: Obedience and a desire for righteousness shape our character to be more like Christ.
Challenges and Encouragement
Practicing obedience and pursuing righteousness can be challenging in a world that often contradicts God’s standards. However, the Bible encourages believers to pursue righteousness and to obey God, promising blessings and guidance in doing so (Psalm 119:1-2, Matthew 6:33).
Conclusion
Obedience and an affinity for righteousness are key ingredients for practicing faith and trust in God. As these elements are cultivated, they help make faith and trust habitual and reliable aspects of a believer’s life. By pursuing obedience and righteousness, believers can deepen their relationship with God and live in a way that honors Him.
Cultivating God’s Rest in Daily Life
Cultivating God’s rest in daily life is a journey of deepening trust in God’s sovereignty, presence, and promises. It’s about embracing a lifestyle that reflects peace, confidence, and trust in God’s control amidst life’s challenges.
Practices for Cultivating God’s Rest
– Prayer and Communion: Regular prayer and communion with God foster a sense of His presence and peace.
– Scripture Meditation: Meditating on scriptures about God’s promises, sovereignty, and love builds trust and rest in Him.
– Trusting God’s Sovereignty: Actively choosing to trust in God’s control over circumstances cultivates rest.
– Surrendering Worries: Letting go of worries and anxieties to God in prayer opens the path to His rest.
Benefits of Cultivating God’s Rest
– Peace Amidst Challenges: Experience peace even in difficult situations knowing God is in control.
– Confidence in God’s Control: Face challenges with courage and confidence.
– Reduced Anxiety: Trust in God reduces anxiety about outcomes.
Challenges and Considerations
– Daily Practice: Cultivating God’s rest requires daily intentionality in prayer, trust, and surrender.
– Mindset Shift: Requires a shift in focusing on God’s sovereignty over circumstances.
Practical Steps for Daily Life
– Morning Devotion: Start the day with prayer and scripture meditation focusing on God’s sovereignty.
– Throughout the Day: Practice brief prayers of trust and surrender when facing challenges.
– Evening Reflection: Reflect on God’s faithfulness and rest in His presence.
Conclusion
Cultivating God’s rest is a transformative practice that brings peace, confidence, and trust in God’s sovereignty into daily life. Through prayer, scripture meditation, and trusting God, believers can experience His rest amidst life’s challenges.
The Intersectionality of God’s Rest, Longing for the Lord, and Living a Life of Heavenly Purview
The concepts of God’s rest, longing for the Lord, and living a life of heavenly purview are deeply intertwined in the spiritual journey of believers. Each aspect influences and enhances the others, leading to a life marked by peace, purpose, and a focus on eternal values.
God’s Rest and Longing for the Lord
– Interconnectedness: God’s rest is often a result of a deepening longing for the Lord. As one longs for God, they find rest in His presence and promises.
– Spiritual Intimacy: Longing for the Lord fosters intimacy with God, which in turn deepens the experience of His rest.
Living a Life of Heavenly Purview
– Eternal Perspective: Living with a heavenly purview means viewing life through the lens of eternity and God’s kingdom. This perspective nurtures a longing for the Lord and His presence.
– Values and Priorities: A heavenly purview shifts values and priorities towards what is eternal, aligning with God’s rest in the midst of earthly challenges.
Intersectionality and Outcomes
– Peace and Contentment: The intersection of these aspects brings peace and contentment in God’s presence, regardless of circumstances.
– Focus on the Eternal: Living with a heavenly purview while longing for the Lord and resting in God focuses one’s life on eternal values rather than temporal ones.
– Spiritual Growth: This intersection fosters spiritual growth, as longing for God and living heavenward lead to deeper trust and rest in Him.
Practical Implications
– Pursuing God: Actively pursuing God through prayer, worship, and scripture deepens longing and leads to rest.
– Eternal Mindset: Cultivating a heavenly mindset helps in prioritizing eternal values and experiencing God’s rest.
Conclusion
The intersectionality of God’s rest, longing for the Lord, and living a life of heavenly purview creates a rich tapestry of spiritual experience. It leads to a life of peace, purpose, and focus on what is eternal. As believers cultivate these aspects, they find themselves more grounded in God’s presence and promises.
The Power of God’s Rest
The power of God’s rest is a profound and transformative concept in spiritual life. It transcends mere physical or mental relaxation, delving into a deep-seated peace and trust in God’s sovereignty and presence. This rest isn’t contingent upon external circumstances but is rooted in an internal assurance of God’s control and care.
Transformative Aspects of God’s Rest
– Perspective Shift: God’s rest changes one’s viewpoint on life, focusing more on eternal values and less on temporal challenges.
– Priorities and Values: In this rest, priorities align with God’s will, and values are grounded in faith and trust in Him.
– Courage and Confidence: Knowing God is in control enables facing challenges with bravery and assurance.
Characteristics of God’s Rest
– Internal Peace and Joy: This rest brings a deep sense of peace and joy independent of external situations.
– Trust in God’s Sovereignty: Confidence in God’s control over all circumstances.
– Spiritual Foundation: Rooted in knowing God and His presence.
Impact on Life
– Facing Challenges: Challenges are met with courage because of trust in God’s control.
– Spiritual Stability: Provides stability in turbulent times through internal peace.
Reflection
The power of God’s rest is a gift that allows believers to navigate life’s complexities with a sense of peace and confidence in God’s sovereignty. It’s a state of being that impacts perspective, priorities, and how one faces challenges.
Concluding Remarks: Questing Entry into God’s Rest
Embracing struggles and trials in life’s circumstances is a pathway to building faith and trust in God. The quest for entry into God’s rest isn’t about avoiding challenges but about navigating them with trust in God’s sovereignty and promises. Through perseverance and endurance in the face of struggles and trials, believers can deepen their faith and experience God’s rest amidst life’s complexities.
Key Insights
– Struggles Build Faith: Embracing struggles and trials can build faith and trust in God.
– Perseverance and Endurance: Worth the journey toward God’s rest.
– God’s Rest in Trials: God’s rest isn’t absence of trials but trust in God through them.
Final Thought
The journey toward God’s rest is worth the perseverance and endurance. By embracing struggles and trials with trust in God, believers can find a profound sense of rest in His sovereignty and promises.
Isaac Megbolugbe, Director of GIVA Ministries International, retired professor at Johns Hopkins University, 2024 Marquis Organization’s Class of Top Executives in the United States of America and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He is resident in the United States of America
