Rest In His Presence

“This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” – 1 John 3:19-20

In his book “Jesus Outside the Lines,” Scott Sauls writes: “Ever since they were little, I have pronounced a specific blessing over each of our daughters as I have tucked them into bed at night. The blessing usually starts with a promise or declaration of their human dignity and value straight out of the Bible—“You are fearfully and wonderfully made…Nothing can separate you from the love of God…God will not harm you but will give you a hope and a future…God so loved you that he gave his only Son for you.” The blessing concludes every time with the words, “God made you beautiful and special, and he loves you so much. And so does your daddy. Don’t you ever forget that. Amen.”

The reason I pronounce this nightly blessing over our daughters is that their hearts, like all human hearts, are prone to forget their fundamental identities as image-bearers. I want the last thing they hear before they nod off to be a reaffirmation of what is true.

I want them to hear a counter-voice to the shame triggers of our culture and the negative verdicts from within that try to convince them that they are worth less than they actually are. In short, I want them to remember and rest in what God says is true about them. Neither the culture nor their own hearts get to name them because their Maker already has.”

Child of God, Is your heart troubled?  Today, in prayer, rest in the presence of Jesus.

“Perfect submission; all is at rest,
I, in my Savior, am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.” – Fanny Crosby

God’s Word: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28