WednesdayReflection

  27^th September 2023

'Graham Cooke contemplates'

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"Relaxing into Rest."

One of the most important things that travelled with me to the U.S. was my favourite armchair, where I've spent countless hours sitting together with Jesus.

Rest is a lot like this armchair.
It's this place where you can kick your feet up and be yourself in Jesus.

You sit down into it.
You take the weight off your feet and simply...relax.

The more I relax into God's rest, the more I experience a deep conviction of who He is for me.

I feel completely safe, able to fully relax into Him with all my weight.

Rest is a gift we receive, not something we earn or achieve.
We don't think our way into rest, we lean into it.

The Prince of Peace who lives in us, rises up and renews our minds.

The Father has placed each of us into the best place to encounter rest; He put us into Jesus.

This means the Father literally placed you inside Peace when He came into your life.

As if that wasn't enough, the Father also

"seated us with Christ in heavenly places."

Being "seated with Him" speaks to a posture of rest that our 'new being' life has the luxury of enjoying.
God's heart for man to live in rest goes all the way back to creation where man's very first day of existence was God's day of rest.

It was man's first experience in life because rest is that important.

The Father did all of this, and more, to ensure that we would confidently know we have permission to start our day in rest, live our day in rest and finish our day in rest.

No matter what is going on in our lives, that place of peace and rest is always available, always present because God is always present to Jesus in us.

Peace is not subject to the events around us.
The events around us need to be subject to our peace.

So, take a moment today, quiet yourself before Him, focus in on this brilliant position He's granted us and relax...
...into His peace as it rises up from inside of you.
...into His presence as it comes and settles in on you.
...into His rest and watch it drive out the noise and negativity around you.
...into His strength as you wait for it to come and renew your strength.
...into the gracious gift of peace and express your love for Him.

I'm sure you know of a few more promises you can relax into.
Go ahead and spend some time relaxing into those promises with Him in the armchair of rest.

About Graham
Graham is a popular speaker around the world with a passion to empower the people of God to walk in their true identity.
His life and ministry are marked by his delightful, intimate, and unreserved two-way friendship with the Lord, and his unique way of communicating a radiant idea of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
Graham has been involved in apostolic teams since 1981 and has cultivated a wide range of expertise in transitional development, corporate reinvention, and personal redefinition.
He is a consultant to numerous churches, organizations and businesses. He is a mentor and wise counsellor to those transitioning toward a higher dimension of personal and corporate life in the Spirit.
Originally from Manchester, England, Graham now lives in California with his wife, Theresa. Graham & Theresa have a growing family spanning two generations and several countries.
All their children are involved in business, the arts and entertainment. There are numerous children who keep them busy laughing and enjoying life.