Rest in Jesus, Rise in 2020
Want to create new goals for the New Year but don’t have the time or space to think because you’re worried about gifts and family expectations?
Are you so ambitious that you’ve created plans for every time slot in your calendar, yet somehow still feel so unproductive in what you want to achieve?
Take a moment, set aside a space in time, and dedicate it to this very important task: learn how to rest in Christ and make space for Him to rise in you:
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Connecting the Calendar with Christ’s Coming
We always start our year on January 1st, based on the solar calendar. But the Hebrew calendar was determined by observation of the moons and the harvest rather than calculation of the sun. There are some really cool connections here, so let’s dig in!
The Month of the Aviv (March-April) marked the beginning of the biblical year, when the first new moon after the barley in the land of Israel reached its full potential (Deut 16:1).
They new moon is when the moon looks completely dark, without light.
We are nearing the winter equinox, the time of year with most darkness, where we are farthest from the sun. It is when we celebrate God with us: when we were furthest from the sun, God sent His own son. Romans 5:8 reminds us that While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Let’s keep fitting the pieces together from the Hebrew calendar to Christ’s fulfillment, from the lunar reflections to the Son’s glory:
In the Hebrew calendar, December 25th marked the Feast of Dedication: John 10:22 indicated this feast was to rededicate the temple in December 164 BC after it was destroyed by the Seleucid ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV in 167.
Jesus being born on this day is a rededication to the new temple: the human body, the most unsuspecting place for God to dwell!
When we, like the old temple, had a head full of rocks and a heart made of stone, God removed our petrified hearts (petrified means turned to stone) and gave us hearts of flesh.
God became flesh in the world so He could be with us!
The New Year is a Time to Repent and Let Jesus Rise
While 2020 sounds like a big deal, there is nothing magical about a New Year. We are simply celebrating another ride on spaceship earth around the sun! But, we can use the New Year as a time to wake up, to repent from our sins and rest from the old ways of striving, and make room for Jesus to rise up.
For the hard-working go-getters out there who are crinkling their noses at the word, “rest,” there is nothing more ambitious than seeking Jesus. There is nothing more fruitful than resting in Him.
You want 2020 to be epic? Let’s give it to God and see what He can do! The more we step aside, the more He can rise up!
Rest and Rise Worksheet
As we go into the New Year, let us evaluate how to make room to rest in Jesus so He can rise up in 2020.
I created this worksheet for my fellow Revelation Wellness instructors so the colors are all Rev colors, but I thought you might be able to find it useful as well! Download it with the button below, print it out, refer to the first page as my example, and keep reading for more instruction as to how to fill out the blank sheet:
Rest: Make Room
"In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” Isaiah 30:15
When Mary and Joseph came into town to give birth to baby Jesus, they needed a place to rest. People pushed them away, but the animals stepped aside. We are going to discover where we can step back in humble invitation to let Jesus rest with us, and us with Him.
Maybe we need to let go of a few things, whether that means literally clearing space in your house or mentally letting the peace of Christ rule in a situtation instead of controlling it with nagging words (or is that just me?). Making room is not about us cleaning ourselves up, but receiving the gospel, and that means letting go of our own will in exchange for His purposes. Let every heart prepare Him room!
Crowded vs. Space
This space on the worksheet is where you will decide where areas of your life feel crowded and how the Word of God creates breathing room. Take a few minutes to pray through each category and write down what feels like it is cluttering up room in your heart and invite the light of the gospel in to that space.
Rise: Be Filled with Jesus
Perhaps the people in the town of Bethlehem already felt too overwhelmed and crammed together from gathering for the census. Another family would be too much. Little did they know that this family would not add to their burdens, but take them away. How can we invite Jesus in to our already crammed spaces to lift our hearts above the noise?
After we clear a space, we are bound to fill it with something: spiritual voids are always filled with physical vices:
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” Matthew 12:43
We will not let evil spirits find rest in us, but may we find rest in Jesus and let His Spirit fill us. Let this be a reminder that rest is not simply stillness of body but a surpassing peace of heart. It is not a void, but a space set apart and filled with God’s presence.
Stuffed vs. Filled
Look at the chart: where are you feeling stuffed? How can the Word of God fill you with the peace of satisfaction? If you need an example, refer to the first page of the worksheet.
When it comes down to it, to rest and rise is to be forgiven and filled. When we rest our striving hearts and give our sin over to Jesus, He fills us up with an uplifting Spirit.
3 ways to train rest
How can we practically apply this?
“The nervous system can access relaxed muscles better than tense muscles. This means that relaxed muscles can be used more fully than tense muscles, resulting in a feeling of greater strength.” Craig Williamson in Muscular Retraining for Pain-Free Living: A Practical Approach to Eliminating Chronic Back Pain, Tendonitis, Neck and Shoulder Tension, and Repetitive Stress Injuries
When I was in physical therapy, they discharged me not because I was necessarily stronger, but because I demonstrated a physical ability to relax my tonic muscles. The ability to relax leads to strength! Here are three ways to train rest:
Sigh: Sighing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, restoring inner peace. Take a deep inhale, and audibly exhale. Usually paired with an eye roll, the sigh can be seen as a passive aggressive gesture, so use with a public disclaimer to those around you :)
Balloon breathing: Let’s add resistance to our breath. I did this exercise while I was in physical therapy for my diastasis recti (abdominal separation) to increase my diaphragmatic breathing and decrease intra-abominal pressure. This video explains the steps of balloon breathing well if you want to try it out. Since I did it to help bring my core back together, I did it while laying on my back, knees at 90 degrees and heels propped up on a chair. To increase resistance, I would also lift my head 2 inches.
Slow, silent stretching: Silence can feel like a scary thing. To give ourselves something to focus on, try holding a yoga pose or other stretch for four full breaths before moving to the next one. If it would help your brain, set a timer for 10 minutes, and work up to 20 minutes. On the inhale, meditate on the “rest” of Jesus and for His life to “rise” in you on the exhale.
Respond
Where do you sense the Lord calling you to rest in Him?
Do you need to focus on resting or rising in this next season of life?
More
We start our yearly calendar on January 1st every year, but the solar calendar doesn't always coincide with our own seasons of life. My goals changed according to my seasons, and I bet yours do too.
If you’d like more resources to help you plan your current season of life, The Lord’s Prayer: A 12-Week Journal has weekly rhythms of prayer, including bonus sheets on praying through your season of life based on John 15, keeping Jesus as the vine and praying through the branches.
And if you’d like more structure on how to rest and rise each day, look into Rest and Rise- A 4-Week Bible Study: Be Refreshed in Your Work.
I really love goal-setting and planning! I also like to focus on one word a year and get refreshed with family goals with my husband, so if you want more on New Years resolution planning, check out this post, and more like it below.
