How I Know that Something is Wrong or Out of Place

One of the things that always stood out in God's promises for the Israelites, is that if they would live by the statutes of the Lord, He would give them rest. See Exodus 33:14, 1 Kings 8:56. So it has always been since, that God will give rest to the people that walk by His ways. Now and then, I find that I am feeling some kind of spiritual sorrow, so to say, or unrest, lack of peace, like I am inwardly overwhelmed, tired or just simply 'low in spirit'. During such times I know that something must be wrong, out of place or that I am losing or have lost perspective.

For every believer, follower of Christ, rest is promised and assured as seen in Matthew 11:28;

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

In fact one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is peace. Finding rest does not always or necessary mean that the physical activities around us have been reduced or that everything is okay. Rest in this case, is an inward feeling of the inner man; "rest for the soul". Despite the things happening around us, we can still find peace. So the lack of peace or rest, has been a sign to me that I need to look into something in my life or around me. It could be that I am doing something I should not be doing or I am not being obedient in doing the things that I know I should be doing. Sometimes. it is just both, whereby I find that I am holding back from or procrastinating things that I feel very well in my spirit I should do.

Other times I have lost perspective or I am in that process. And what exactly do I me? For instance when I start something with a certain mission or goal, but due to the influence and pressure around, I lose focus on the original goal and get drawn to paths that I was not supposed to take...does that make sense? Believers are always advised to keep their focus on God and not on things around them. When we remove our focus from God, we may lose perspective and what made sense in the beginning may not make sense anymore. Sometimes our intentions are good, but the plans that we have may not be the plans that God has for us. 

So as long as I am not finding rest or I am lacking peace, I know that there is something I need to look into. It may also be just that I need to feed my spirit man. It is not surprising that I always feel better by just praying and reading the word. Rest is something that every believer should always find, not just in heaven but here on earth.