Yesterday ended is a podcast dedicated to the healing words of Jesus Christ and his story of redemption. Each podcast contains an original poem so that I can portray a confession of our faith of scripture in unique and succinct ways. Come with me on a journey to become a new creation and to declare old things dead and our life anew in Christ. What we meditate on will determine the direction and fruit of our lives. Let's live today speaking the words of life.
The victory we have in Christ can be felt in our everyday life. We can overcome depression. We can overcome fear. We can be confident. We can be free from worry. We can be free from anxiety. We can have emotional healing. We can have hope. We can be set free from our past. The Bible declares the goodness of God. The Bible is more than Christian psychology it is truth. The truth of God brings mental health, spiritual health and physical health. We can walk in peace. We can overcome the traumas of life.
Are you tired of the fight? Can you find any rest to your soul? Where do you turn to find strength to keep going? Are you numb from the pain of life? Welcome to yesterday ended, healing the traumas of life. Can you remove yourself from the treadmill of life? I'm your host Dennis Dobbin and I'm here to teach you about inner healing through rest. Give a listen
Are you tired of the fight? Can you find any rest to your soul? Where do you turn to to find strength to keep going on? Are you numb from the pain of life? Welcome to yesterday ended. Healing the traumas of life. Can you remove yourself from the treadmill of life? I'm your host, Dennis Dobbin, and I'm here to teach you about inner healing through rest. Give a listen. One huge thing that is missing in our fast-paced society today is the ability to rest. There are two types of rest. The first that comes to mind is good old sleeping. Lack of sleep has been connected to many serious health issues. I remember in my youth that I used to sleep only about six hours a night. Now in my senior years, I crave sleep. I like to nap. I see immediately the effects of not getting a good night's sleep. But you don't have to be a more senior person to recognize the effects of not getting proper sleep. I have a young friend who is 17 years old, and I see how that person is affected when on Sunday morning they come to church and they're dragging in. They need to sleep because their body is still growing. But beyond sleep, there is another type of rest. A type of rest wherein we shut down from the activities that have us on a treadmill, always being pushed, always being pulled in multiple directions. A type of rest that wherein we disengage so that we can recharge. Faced with the complexity of life, our desire sometimes is to run away from the challenges. David was the king of Israel, and he faced challenges of war and betrayal, amongst other things. And even he, a man after God's own heart, had a similar reaction to the pain of life. Psalm 55, verses 6 and 7. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off and remain in the wilderness. Salah. It is wonderful to have the ability to leave a bad situation so that we might find rest. To get away from it all, away from the hustle and bustle. But the responsibilities of life many times have us almost imprisoned. Consider what Jesus did to find time to pray. Mark one thirty five. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. Jesus went out into a solitary place to be able to pray. Living in small villages, it wasn't hard to walk out of the urban surroundings and go out into a wilderness like place. Living in major cities these days doesn't allow for much of that. The best you might find a park. But one key in this verse gives us an option. In the morning, rising up a great while before day. We need to intentionally plan a time to rest. We need to put some effort into resting. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 11. Let us labor, therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Chapter 4 of Hebrews talks about the challenge God had with the children of Israel once he had brought them out of Egypt. They walked in unbelief and hardness of heart. He had offered them the land of promise, the land of rest, but in their hearts they turned back to Egypt. They wouldn't let go of what to them seemed like an easier life than walking in the desert. But God had them walking around to prove their hearts. But here is the paradox of laboring to enter into rest. If we do not plan and make a time for rest, we will ever be on the treadmill. To find inner healing, we must learn how to rest. It's not a matter if my eyes are open or closed. The matter is that I am looking to God and his son. It's not a matter of where I am or where I live. The matter is that I live in God and in his son. Rest is so important that God did it himself. He rested on the seventh day from all his work. He was not wearied, but in love he gave us a lesson. Rest is good for our soul to not work, but rest in him. We turn from all the deeds we do and wait upon the Lord. We separate from the world and bind ourselves to him. We become still and in patience we listen for his voice. We walk into his powerful presence and praise and rejoice. We must intentionally build the habit of rest into our lives. It cannot be a time when our schedule permits, but a time that we set aside with a purpose to rest. Consider the truth revealed in Isaiah 40, verse 31. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. How often do you wait upon the Lord? It's somewhat like being a waiter or a waitress in a restaurant. With intention we walk up to the Lord and wait upon him. We look to him, we come into his presence, and we wait for him to speak and tell us what he wants. In his word, he has told us he wants to bless us. In these moments of waiting upon the Lord, of resting in him, we will renew our strength. We will hear the specifics of the day or hour of our lives. Several years ago I went on vacation to Morro Bay. I drove up the 101 freeway and turned left onto Pacific Coast Highway out towards Morrow Bay. Along that stretch of PCH, as we call it out here, there are seven volcanic peaks. I planned my vacation so that when I left Morro Bay, I would go out into the state park and hike around one of these peaks. But when I left, I got lost. I ended up on a small country road that had no houses, but did have one turnout where I parked my car across from a beautiful meadow and what turned out to be one of the highest peaks. This volcanic outcrop was simple, but was a wonderful contrast against the beautiful rolling meadow before me. I was able to park my car in the turnout in the shade of a tree. I looked across the road into the beautiful meadow with a few trees dotting it here and there. I looked at the peak and sat quietly waiting for the Lord to speak to me. Fifteen minutes passed by, and another fifteen minutes passed by, and another half hour passed by. All he said was Now you know how to rest. I found a solitary place to pray. It may be that you might literally need to hide in a closet. It's not an unheard of activity. But wherever we go, we need to make time to come into the presence of the Lord and wait patiently upon him. There we will find rest. Psalm 46, verse 10. Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. To be still is literally to be idle. To some preachers, what I'm about to say might be blasphemous, but definitely controversial. I admit sometimes I do take my phone with me into the presence of God. Only because if God, the creator of heavens and the earth, is going to talk to me, I want to be able to take permanent notes. Anyway, maybe a pen and paper might be better. The point being, though, is get quiet and listen. Therein you will find rest. There is a time for fellowship with the Father, and then there is a time for fellowship with Jesus. Jesus has made us an offer that literally we cannot refuse if we're smart. Matthew chapter 11, verses 28 through 30. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. The first three words show perhaps the most important aspect we face. We must make the intentional decision to come to Jesus. It is a common prayer of mine over my neighborhood for people to have a come to Jesus moment. I speak it out loud quite regularly. Jesus will leave the 99 to look for the one that is lost. But most of us aren't lost. We are kind of milling around and wondering what to do next. What we need to do is come to Jesus. We need to humble ourselves and admit we need Jesus. So now that that's settled, we, the above-mentioned people who labor and are burdened, when we come to Jesus, he will give us rest. But wait, there are responsibilities for us to do. First, we must come to Jesus and then become yoked to Jesus. And then thirdly, we need to learn from him. Not a bad teacher, if you ask me. And it is amazing that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords describes himself as meek and lowly of heart. We get the privilege to be yoked to and learn from Jesus so that we can receive rest. With such a promise, what are you studying these days? To whom or what are you connected? If you're connected to Jesus, you will find rest to your soul. To those who come to Jesus, he is a gentle teacher. To those who are proud, he might have a few strong words to say to you. Let's not be those people. Consider the challenge of something that will steal our ability to rest. Psalm 38, verses 3 and 4. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger, neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head as an heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. I may be stepping on a few people's toes at this point, but it is my job not only to show you how to rest, but also to cover all the reasons for lack of rest. One of them may be that we are walking away from God and his son instead of walking towards them. I know when I have been stuck on stupid and turned away from God through fear and doubt and distraction, that I have no rest. Verse 4 talks about the heavy burden that we carry when we hold on to our sin. That's why Jesus calls us to come to Him and dump our sin upon Him where it belongs. He took it upon Himself on the cross. And when we leave our junk there, we will be unburdened and find rest to our souls. So again, have a come to Jesus moment. His blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Jesus has made us righteous. He has redeemed us from our sin. Now we need to live in the freedom he acquired for us on the cross. We find a similar truth in Psalm 94, verses 12 and 13. Blessed is the man whom thou chasteneth, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law, that thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity until the pit be digged for the wicked. Like Jesus wanting to teach us, the Father is the same. What a shock. We are blessed when we are chastened or instructed of the Lord. He will teach us out of his word. Why? That he may give us rest from the days of adversity. Rest is available to all those who will turn to the Father and to His Son Jesus. But it must be an intentional action on our part. Developing the habit of spending time quietly in the presence of the Lord will rejuvenate our souls and bring healing to our hearts and minds. As a young child crawls into the lap of their father, we must, in like manner, turn to our Heavenly Father to receive the rest and love he so desires to lavish upon us. Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him. Fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Again here we are instructed to turn to the Lord and wait patiently for him. Then it instructs us to not fret or worry about the wicked or evil people around us. As we rest in the Lord, we will find the peace that the world is trying to steal from us. We must guard our hearts and learn to rest in the Lord, if not daily, at least regularly throughout the week. We sleep every day of our lives, at least most of us. I recently saw a movie where a genius man reportedly did not sleep at all. That's impossible for the human body. We need sleep and we need rest. They are two different things. The Lord developed the Sabbath for us. It is not a religious action. It is a need for us to recharge. But it needs to be more than once a week. My suggestion to you today is to go find a quiet place and wait upon the Lord and find rest.
