Jesus - Our Refuge & Rest by Joseph Prince

God does not want you to live a "striving" life or a "trying" life.

The reason many of us strive and try to make things happen in our own strength, is because we believe that what we do will earn us acceptance from others and also with God.

Today, I want to tell you how you can break out of that wrong belief and find yourself in a place of rest, provision, fulfillment and abundance.

If you can hear and act on what
I'm about to share with you today,
your life will bear great fruit.

I want you to know that rest and wholeness are available to you through your High Priest, Jesus.

In the Old Testament, the high priest represented the people to God. And all the standing of the nation of Israel was wrapped up in the high priest. If the high priest was good, God blessed the nation. If the high priest was bad, God rejected the whole nation.

But now the Bible says that Jesus is our High Priest...forever.

That means you can have permanent eternal security in your heart because your standing is wrapped up in your High Priest. When you behold Him, you receive everything He has to offer.

Today Jesus is your High Priest! That means that God is not looking at you to judge you. God is looking at your High Priest to bless you.

Beloved, this is why we must behold Jesus. Second Corinthians 3:18 says...

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as
in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being
transformed into the same image from glory
to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Here's where it gets practical for you and me:

If God judged us based on ourselves, there would be no rest—there would be no peace. As long as God's blessings depend on us and our obedience, we are never at rest. But when His blessings depend on the finished work of Jesus Christ—the infallible, sinless, altogether lovely One—we can be eternally secure and at rest!

Something powerful happens when you see Jesus...

The Bible says that as you are beholding His glory, you are being transformed into the same image. Not by your efforts, but by the Spirit of the Lord!

When you behold Jesus, you become like Him.

The Lord makes it very simple for us: as we behold, the Holy Spirit transforms us...

From depression to peace.
From heaviness to joy.
From poverty to abundance.
From being sickly to being healthy and robust.
From striving to rest.

You cannot transform yourself by your own efforts. But you can enter into a rest where you allow the Holy Spirit to do His work. By turning your eyes and your attention toward Jesus, you open the door for these things to manifest in your everyday life!

Beloved, as long as you keep your eyes on Jesus, there is nothing to fear. You can rest in His security, His blessing and His supernatural work in your life.

It’s never about focusing on self...
it’s always about focusing on Jesus.

It’s not a question of whether you deserve God’s blessings—it’s a question of whether your High Priest deserves every blessing. It’s not a question of how pleasing you are in God’s eyes—it’s a question of how pleasing your High Priest is in God’s eyes.

Jesus Christ is your perfect High Priest, and since He is perfectly pleasing to God, SO ARE YOU!

That’s why the Bible says:

Love has been perfected among us in this:
that we may have boldness in the day of judgment;
because as He is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17)

What a powerful, life-changing truth: As Jesus is, so are we in this world!

Friend, whatever you are faced with right now, whether it’s a financial struggle, a negative diagnosis, a difficult decision, a relationship issue or anything else in your life, all you need to do is look to Jesus.

You don’t have to be anxious or afraid, and you don’t have to fix it all in your own strength. Just put your eyes on Jesus and remember that as Jesus is, so are you. He is healthy...you can receive health. He is wise...you can receive wisdom. He is accepted and approved...you can receive the Father’s acceptance and approval.

Remember, God is not looking at you to judge you. He is looking at your High Priest, Jesus, to bless you. Fix your eyes on Jesus and rest in that promise today.

You don’t have to lead a "striving" life or a "trying" life any longer. The Lord wants you to live the blessed life, the abundant life...the restful life in Him.

Living at rest,