Shake off every hope that is not the hope of Christ in you! Shake off despair, let go of striving in your own strength, and push through the crowd of your own hopeless thoughts so that you can grab hold of the very hem of His garment -- then see what happens.

"Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth" (Psalms 46:10).

This wrestle of "strivings" (striving to enter His rest -- let go of striving out of human strength) will cause your soul to truly enter the rest of the Lord. You will witness and come to KNOW that He is God, and He will show Himself as the God of your life.

As you humbly acknowledge your weakness, this will be the very place where the power of Christ will come to rest. The barren places will become the womb of miracles. The impossibilities will become the landing strip for awe and wonder. And the desolate lands will drip with new wine.

You must push through the place of putting confidence in your own strengths and abilities (or in anything that is not Christ), then you will enter a spiritual rest that heals your soul and keeps you focused on bearing fruit that remains for His advancing Kingdom through your Christ calling.

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY