Rest Where you’re Planted

Key Verse to Read and Treasure:

He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. (Psalm 23:2-3, NLT)

For Insight

For years I’ve encouraged women in their various seasons of struggle or pain to  “bloom where they’re planted.”

David’s psalm reminds us of another outlook. David reminds us at times we need to “rest” where we’re planted. Rest, meaning to be satisfied, to remain in place or stay where we are until God moves us on to the next place, experience, chapter, or position.

When we rest where we’re planted, we are submitting our free-will to do-what- we-want-to-do-when-we-want-to-do-it, to being patient in the place God has us and says “okay, time to move forward or up.”

When the Israelites were released from captivity, they had to learn to set up camp and break down camp (read Deuteronomy 1:7-38). Not when they wanted to. They were not the determiners of how quickly they left or how long they stayed in one place or region. Only God could do that, and he was not going by their timetable. This took patience and listening and obedience.

Sometimes we don’t experience victory, success, or protection from enemy activity because we are getting ahead of God and we’re moving or repositioning ourselves and God hasn’t given us the go-ahead or released us. This is when we will labor in vain, beat against the head winds or be swept by the high waves.

In Psalm 23 David is describing life in the True Vine which is the key to know we are resting even if it doesn’t’ appear to be so from our viewpoint. Resting places aren’t always lush gardens to our eyes or spirit. Sometimes they seem more like deserts. But God knows it’s the place his seed of success is being sown and taking root. We’re resting because it’s not the season for the shoots of success or promotion to peek above ground.

One thing we can count on is that God will never allow us to rest in a sinful place. He’ll never allow us to rest in a dangerous place. He’ll never allow us to rest in enemy territory.

When we are willing to rest and not fret, we will receive all the messages and instruction God has for us. We will not be dried up or depleted spiritually, but even in our resting we will be nourished because we only rest in the Vine where there is life, not death.

Resting in the Vine we learn how to be spiritually-minded and perceptive. Our discernment will be cultivated and honed and we will experience success and prosper. When God does finally tell us to “break camp” we’ll be more than ready. We will be well-fed and strengthened by our time of rest.

Father, I’ll be patient until you give the signal for me to make a change in my life. I won’t fret of get discouraged because I trust your judgment and timing.

For Application

How do you respond to resting or holding times? Have you ever moved because you wanted to without God’s okay? What were the results or consequences?

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