Power in Rest: The Supernatural Position for Fruitfulness

By Ryo Leong

Rest is a much sought after commodity especially for those living in modern, urban cities. The concept of rest was introduced immediately after the genesis of creation when God rested on the seventh day. God's rest promises more than mere physical rejuvenation. Jesus urged all to come to Him and He will give us rest for our souls. Yet many, including Christians, fail to find rest in God. In this book, you will discover:

- What is God's idea of rest?
- What are the benefits of God's rest?
- How to enter into God's rest?
- How to be fruitful in life through resting in God?

There is much more to be achieved from the position of rest than we can ever imagine!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Mar 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781482899276

Ryo Leong

Ryo serves in Healing Rooms Singapore, a team of volunteers believing in the healing power of Jesus and committed to praying for sick and infirmed.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Ryo Leong.

ISBN:         Hardcover             978-1-4828-9926-9

              Softcover                978-1-4828-9925-2

              eBook                      978-1-4828-9927-6

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Contents

The Need for God’s Rest

The Benefits of God’s Rest

What is God’s Idea of Rest?

Returning to His Rest

It Starts With Believing

He Who Has Ears, Let Him Hear

Who Has Believed Our Report?

The Battle in the Mind

Abiding in Jesus

Desire for Intimacy

Meekness and the Fear of the Lord

Purpose of God’s Rest

Unleash your Power from Rest

To Wan Lee.

My beloved wife, ardent supporter and strongest critic.

"Come to Me,

all you who labour 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."

Matthew 11:28-30

Thanks…

When I first received the assignment from the Lord to write this book, He had already prepared most of the material for me through the years. But it was only in the actual writing that I realized how tough it really is. I would like to therefore give thanks to the following people for helping to make this project a reality:

Mr and Dr Thio—for showing me that there is so much more to Christian living than mere salvation. Thanks to Dr Thio in particular, for getting me started on journaling the revelations that God has given, much of which provided the foundation for this book.

Andrew, Chris, Yu Lin and Dr Alan—for reading the initial drafts and giving me precious feedback and encouragement.

Madeleine—for giving me the prophetic word that God is giving me precious words like diamonds to write on the very day I received the assignment no less.

TP83 homecell—for your prayers and support.

Thank you with love!

rYo

The Need for God’s Rest

. . . all you who labour and are heavy laden…

A colleague posted her holiday pictures on facebook much to the envy of many of us in the office. Envy is a common response whenever we hear of anyone returning from a holiday trip. In fact, the sense of envy is present from the time we hear of their plans, to the preparations for the trip, to their absence in the office, and finally to their eventual return with souvenirs and photos. Evidently, having a break from the daily work routine is much yearned after by all.

In the modern society where many of us are caught up in the rat race for material success, we often say that we are slaves to our work or company. Any temporal reprieve from slavery is always greatly welcomed regardless of occupation. But this is not unique to just the workforce. Students are under immense pressure to perform. Homemakers need to manage all details of the household with no leave entitlements. When Jesus gave the invitation to all who labour and are heavy laden,¹ He is not addressing only those who work in the marketplace. The word that is translated as labour in the original Greek carries the implication of toil to the extent of feeling fatigue.² Some other English translations use weary instead of labour and also burdened in place of heavy laden. Therefore, I dare say with confidence that the invitation is applicable to many, if not all, of us. We all need rest.

Anabolism and Catabolism

Rest is needed for the rejuvenation of our bodies and minds. Medical fraternity has found out that there are two simultaneous processes in continuous operation in each of us. The first type is the process of growth and replenishment called Anabolism. It is dominant during periods of rest and sleep. The other process is one of wear and tear called Catabolism. It is dominant in periods of activity. Together, the two processes constitute Metabolism. Neither of these processes is ceased entirely during life, but generally speaking, when one is active, the other will be more passive. So while many of us will equate rest to the cessation of activity entirely, it is actually not true. What it does mean, is that we stop the activities that causes wear and tear while allowing the body to be active in renewing and refreshing itself. For example, when we are doing sports, our body engages in mainly catabolic activity and only a little anabolic activity. Conversely, when we go to bed, anabolism will take over as the main activity as the body recharges itself. Rest is therefore the state that allows restoration to take place.

Jesus also knows that anabolic activities are needed for us to be refreshed from the physical demands of work. Thus, when the apostles returned after being sent out for ministry, He said to them,  ‘Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.’ For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat (Mark 6:31, emphasis added).

Mental and emotional catabolism

In our society today, mental and emotional catabolic activities are even more demanding. We live in an age where we need to adjust to technological and sociological changes that occur within shorter and shorter time spans. Work needs to be accomplished faster. Tons of information have to be processed by our brains every day. This means that the demand for mental catabolic activities has surged tremendously in recent years and will likely to continue going up in years to come. Many of us constantly have to rely on stimulants such as coffee to crank up catabolic abilities to cope with all the mental demands. Personally, hardly a day goes by without me having to drink at least two cups of coffee to stay sharp mentally.

However, there is obviously a limit to how long we can sustain such levels of catabolic activities. If catabolic activities are in constant overdrive, a condition that we call burnout will occur. Burnout is the term used to describe the state where a person is overworked and not rested. It is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion caused by long-term exposure to demanding work situations and is the cumulative result of stress. With an increasing trend of people burning out, mental health has become a big issue in many countries now. Out of this need, various solutions have sprouted and I will touch briefly on some of them.

Human solutions for burnouts

Some people have resorted to alcohol and drugs as a means of escape from stress. While they seem to succeed in reducing catabolic activities when the effects lasted, alcohol and drugs suppress all metabolic activities including anabolic ones. As such, there can be no restoration to the body and mind. Anyone who has experienced a hangover will bear testimony to the fact that the feeling is worse after the effects of