The importance of resting and waiting on God

You are here: Home

The notes on this page summarise the main points of the online presentation we offer about why we should rest in God. This online presentation also provides the motivation why we should seriously consider building solitude into our relationship with God if we want to grow spiritually and develop our intimate relationship with God to become increasingly real and involving every aspect of our lives.

The online presentation is also promoting the free online course we offer on "Getting real with God" where you are guided through the process to build resting in God, waiting on God and solitude is built into your daily life.

You can watch the online presentation by clicking here. If you do not want to watch the online presentation, you can read a summary of its content below. It focuses on why we should rest in God, wait on Him and develop solittude as a part of our spiritual life.

The presentation has five slides:

Slide 1: Why should we rest in God?

In this slide we discuss the reasons why it makes sense for us to spend time resting in God and developing solitude as a regular practice and part of your spiritual life.

We look at the question "Why would you make the commitment to change your life, to build in new disciplines and habits into your life to rest in God, to remain silent in His presence and to wait on Him?"

We talk briefly about four reasons why resting in God is necessary:

1. The rhythm of life: Resting is part of the rhythm of life. We are going to look at what that means for our spiritual life.

2. Sanctified: Where we rest, we are sanctified. We are going to explore the close link between resting and being made holy.

3. Unburden: Where we rest, we unburden, getting rid of tiredness and the heavy loads that we are carrying.

4. Know God: While we rest we get to know God for who He really is. We are going to explore what the Bible says about this important truth.

Go to top of the page or Go back to the course "Getting real with God".

Slide 2: The rhythm of life

If there is anything that this presentation (and the free online course on Getting Real with God) wishes to challenge fundamentally, it is the notion that resting is unproductive, that resting is something we do when we have nothing else to do, or when we are too tired to do anything else.

As you start to experience what it is to rest in God and spend time with Him in silence, I think you will agree that it is one of these most productive things that we can do. That is not only true in our relationship with God, but in life generally.

Go to top of the page or Go back to the course "Getting real with God".

Slide 3: To be sancified

Where God comes to rest ...

There is a very close link between resting and being made holy. That link is found already in Gen 2:2-3 where God institutes the Sabbath. God sanctified the Sabbath day because on it He rested. Andrew Murray writes that holiness is the attribute of God that manifests where God comes to rest[i]. There is therefore a very close link between being made holy and resting together with God.

Where we learn to be separate for God ...

Finding time to rest with God, wait on Him and spent time silently with Him is also one of the most important things we need to do if we want to turn away from disobedience, leave sin behind and start to live an obedient life. (Read Heb 3:18-4:11)

What this passage shows is that resting in God requires that we leave behind disobedience. To be sanctified means to be separated for God, and it is entering His rest that confirms that we have left a life of disobedience behind and we want to focus our lives on Him.

Where we learn to trust God ...

The last aspect of how resting in God works towards our sanctification that is given attention to in the presentation is found in the book of Exodus, chapter 16 (read the whole chapter).

It is about the time when God started to give them manna. They were disobedient twice.

The first time because they did not trust that God would give them manna again tomorrow, so they picked up for two days when instructed to pick up for one day only
The second time is because they did not believe that when they pick up for two days on the sixth day, it will not be rotten the next day, so they disregarded the instruction to pick up for two days on the sixth day and instead went out to gather manna on the seventh day instead of following the instruction to rest (obviously their sin when they picked up for two days initially informed them well not to trust God when He said pick up for two days on the sixth day ...).

This story in Ex 16 mainly teaches us that obedience to God

causes us to work less than those who do not (disobedience is always superfluous and not necessary to succeed)
makes it easy for us to trust God (because disobedience gives us "information" that makes it difficult to trust God)
causes us to experience (often in contrast to our past experience) that there is a place (and time) of rest where God provides and gives sustenance, we do not have to work hard to be provided for.

Go to top of the page or Go back to the course "Getting real with God".

Slide 4: To unburden

Where we learn to relinquish own effort ...

The story in Exodus 16 already provides information about how resting in God guides us to relinquish our own effort as we trust in God and only move in obedience to Him. They learnt the hard way (just like we often do) that it was not their own effort that fed them, it was the Word of God.

This is explained in more detail in for instance Isa 30:15-18 (read whole passage). The close link between waiting on God, silence and trust in God to give us strength and protection, as opposed to frantic self-effort that leads us to failure, fear and being defeated is vividly illustrated in this passage.

"In returning and rest you shall be saved,
in quietness and trust shall be your strength ..."
(Isa 30:15a)

These words were spoken by God in an environment of conflict and danger. A similar situation is found in Ex 14:14. This is not a call for inactivity. It is a call for waiting on God in a trusting manner even in situations that are challenging. It does not come easily. We default to the basic habits of our life in such situations, and unless we are steeped in the experience that waiting on God is the best protection and surest way to succeed, we'll follow the way of self-effort in situations like that.

A very good motivation to pursue resting in God and waiting on Him in solitude is because it makes the resources of God work on our behalf. We are not limited by what we are able to achieve.

Where we arrive home ...

Matthew 11:28-30 provides the sense of arriving at a place of rest after having carried a heavy burden for a long time. In fact, it goes further, having someone take the heavy burden and carry it while we are given a light and easy burden to carry.

Until we find this home with God where we rest with Him we cannot really unburden in a meaningful way. This passage does not encourage us to speak to God about our burdens, but to come to Him with our burdens. That leads to an exchange of burdens that gives us the lasting rest. I am sure you know the experience of discussing your burdens with God, only to find you pick them up and carry them again afterwards. Coming to God and finding your home with Him removes your burden completely since He takes it up. You can rest and find peace in the home you share with Him. It is in that home that the burden is dissolved as you live together with God, and peace, humility and rest becomes the "cloak" you wear instead of the burdens you used to know.

Go to top of the page or Go back to the course "Getting real with God".

Slide 5: To know God

The ultimate reason why this presentation, and the course "Getting real with God" is calling on you to consider growing in your commitment to rest in God, wait on Him and build regular solitude into your life, is because it is where we come to really know God as He is. (Read Ps 46:10)

As we are still (cease striving), as we are quiet, as we wait on God, we get to know Him for who He really is - He really is God. It is our experience when we remain silent, resting Him in the face of difficult situations and experiences. However, we won't be able to do it under those circumstances if it is not the habit of our life anyway. That is arguably the biggest reason why we should seriously consider growing our practice of waiting on God and resting in Him. This happens and the trust in God grows in us as we silently wait on Him regularly.

It is as we build this into the rhythm of our life that we are sanctified and our lives become focused on Him. This leads to us being unburdened as we get to know Him more and more while we live with Him in the place of rest - home.

Isa 58:13 tells us to stop pursuing three things as we learn to honour and find delight in solitude, waiting on God and resting in Him:

1. Not going your own way

2. Not serving your own interests

3. Not speaking your own words

The reward of this way of life (yes solitude is a lifestyle more than a religious practice) is found in Isa 58:14

1. To take delight in God

2. To ride on the heights of the earth (above the troubles of life)

3. To be fed with the heritage stemming from God's promises

In Isa 58:13 we find the discipline of solitude, resting in God and waiting on God. If we are willing to live like that Isa 58:14 describes the impact on our lives.

It is for these reasons that we strongly recommend you start to pursue (or continue to grow in)
a life of solitude, resting in God and waiting on Him.
We make available an online course to assist you on this journey.
To read more about this free online course on "Getting real with God" click here.

Go to top of the page or Go back to the course "Getting real with God".

[i] Andrew Murray, The believer's secret of holiness