It’s all connected: the coming and going, the past, present, and future. The moments when your smile is so big your face could break from joy, the moments when you are so uncertain that your voice is shaking. The ways we shrink back and the ways we rise up, the highs and the lows, are all connected.
If we try to set aside or hide bits of ourselves from other parts of who we are–living disconnected lives– we will fail at truly living. Worse, we run the risk of disregarding God’s original design. We can’t tuck parts of ourselves into categories, labeling them worthy or unworthy. We don’t get to decide which parts of ourselves should change, be disciplined, or loved. Even with all of our good intentions to grow, our human effort can cause a major backfire in the very places we’d like to see ourselves advance.
Here’s another way to look at it.
“He told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too. The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn’t it? Where did these thistles come from?’ He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.’ “The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?’ He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you’ll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I’ll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.’” Matt. 13:24-30 The Message (emphasis mine)
What I’m saying is that you are a body, that has a spirit, with a mind and emotions. You are one being. Every part of you affects every other part. To attempt to separate any of those parts creates a major risk of falling apart.
Every joy we experience and every trial we endure are woven into a plan by God to bring us to a place where we know our strengths, weaknesses, identity, and ultimately our desperate need for His wisdom. (James 1)
When we partner with the One who created us, we begin to understand that nothing happens to us without going through His hands. Nothing is wasted. We find rest in the promise that somehow God takes the very worst of our lives and causes it to become the very thing that blesses our lives. We find rest in the truth that He absolutely knows how to do this and can make a way where there seems to be no way.
Can I be honest with you for a second?
I’ve been struggling.
A few days ago I muttered words that make me feel worse than enduring the struggle itself. I said to my husband, “If I could just lose 10-20 pounds and get my belly down I’d be much happier because I don’t like the way I feel.” I was shocked that I even said it. I’d been feeling the overwhelm of performance masked as discipline. I’d been hiding behind the lie of the enemy that I needed to look a certain way. I felt left out, avoided, rejected, too much, and not enough. It wasn’t until I was honest with how overwhelmed I felt that I began to notice what had actually happened. The enemy had planted weeds.
My guess is it happened while I wasn’t paying attention. I wasn’t on alert. And if I hadn’t actually voiced what I was feeling to my husband, I might have tried to make every effort to “get it together.”
This month’s invitation to rest couldn’t have come at a more perfect time for me. But it hasn’t necessarily been about doing nothing. Rest is permission to see things God’s way.
This rest is permission to take a deep inhale from the One who reminds me that He is using everything in our lives. I don’t need to perform. I can just receive it.
This rest has been permission to slowly walk with Him through His Word, recognizing the invitation to pause, collect a few stones (Joshua 4), and renew my hope with the promises of His strength, His restoration, and His love.
This rest has been permission to remove the yoke and burden of “I need to get it together” and realize that He has always kept me together from day one (Psalm 139). I am already lovely in God’s sight because of Christ.
Breathe, friends. Take a deep inhale, and let it out.
Are there any weeds the Lord would like to help you pull out as you rest in His promises?
That is how much He loves you. Rest in that.
Amia Freeman is the Regional Coordinator for Revelation Wellness and lives in Marietta GA where she teaches fitness classes for general and active aging populations with a specialty in Alzheimer’s memory care and Parkinson’s restorative wellness. Amia is currently completing the ACE certification for Coaching Behavioral Change.
Thank you for reading the Revelation Wellness Blog! This month, we will share stories about our diverse identities and unity in Christ. Join us on the blog and on social media to hear from our fitness teacher, gospel preachers!
“So now, may the God of peace make you His own completely and set you apart from the rest. May your spirit, soul, and body be preserved, kept intact & wholly free from any sort of blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus the Anointed.” -1 Thessalonians 5:23
Join us for #WorkoutWednesday! For more workouts like this, join us on mission, and our gift to you is RevWell TV — our library of workouts created to train your hope and move you in God’s love!
Ron’s LIVE Cardio & Core Ladder – “Significant, Secure & Accepted”
This workout will challenge you to get your heart rate up and keep it there for a full 20 minutes. Your lungs and legs are about to battle. But your mind of Christ gets the final say! (ALL LEVELS) (John 15:16; NO EQUIPMENT)
25 Responses
Perfect for today!
Beautifully written Amia! To answer your question, the Lord is helping me to pull out the weed of busyness. The need to work. To perform. The need to prove by worth by my works…. As I was lying in the middle of the floor, on my back, with palms up resting and receiving from Him, He began to tell me I’m His child. I’m His child when I rest and when I work. I don’t need to earn that position. He loves me no less lying in the floor doing nothing. An hour later, I woke up refreshed. I don’t know when I fell alsleep or how the time passed so quickly but it was so peaceful. So restful… It’s in the stillness that we come to know Him. I don’t just want to read the words on the pages of the Bible. I don’t want to be like the religious leaders who knew about Jesus but didn’t know Him. I want to KNOW and experience Him. I want to be BOLD like Peter and John. I want people to say, “she’s been with Jesus!” I want to know Him deeply….
So much joy in the morning . Just wanted to praise him.
Love this workout and praise time!!
Pretty Awesome, thank you!
Definitely appreciated!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for this awesome adventure you have shared with me (and so many others). I am so excited about this program. I have NEVER experienced the coming alive in Jesus Christ through exercise and something to enhance the way I feel about me and my body. The anointing is so obvious! I feel so alive in Christ right now I could just explode! Thank you to all involved, especially God, for this opportunity you have given me to feel like I’m truly somebody worth loving. WOW! And this is just day two for me. Special thank you to Ashley Moore and Elizabeth Campbell for introducing to me (through Facebook) this wonderful adventure in truly living. My cup runneth over!
Thank you for your vulnerability. What a beautiful reminder of what true rest is. I needed that today.
Amen! Rest is so needed, especially when we feel we can’t slow down.
Thank you so much for this blog post today. I’m struggling with the new job God has provided, whether it’s where I’m supposed to stay or if it’s just a stepping stone. I wonder if he’s using this time to give me confidence in my abilities yet Also show me what I want and what I don’t want. It’s certainly drawing me closer to him. I appreciate your willingness to be open and vulnerable.
That is a hard place to be! Praying for God’s direction and your trust in Him!
This REALLY touched my heart. Thank you amia♡
We’re so glad this blessed you, Joy!
Oh my i have been DEALING with this. I have been conpa my even after i lost weight the last few weeks and it has been a chal but telling with my mouth , It is healing
Thank you for sharing, Karla! Praise God for healing!
two words: so good.
thank you, amia. i have been in a season of “trying softer” and needed this reminder today. i also had the same thoughts last week – if i only lost my belly i’d be happier. and i was like, ‘no’….that is not freedom. that feeling was just my frustration with feeling like i have to perform and do all the things that the world says i need to do to be successful and accepted. but i am loved, chosen and already accepted. i am loved first because he first loved me. therefore i will love first. and i will rest and try softer.
and great workout ron!
Amen! Thanks for sharing that truth, Sandra! We have a great Father!
Exactly what i needed to hear! I am always amazed at God’s timing!!! Thank you for allowing Him to speak through you!
Thank you, Dava! We are so thankful for Amia’s faithfulness and leadership!
Amia, I am so grateful for your honesty and transparency. Your words speak to my heart and call me back to the Father’s heart. Thank you for being faithful to speak truth in love.
We are so glad this post blessed you, Michal!
Thank you for the reminder of Christ’s love.
So needed this morning and everyday is a new day. A fresh start. I am struggling with limits, boundaries for my health!
Decision to join Rev as a coach. Praying for revelation in my own life.
Rev always seem to send messages when I need them
Thank you all!
We are cheering you on, Mil!
This was perfe to read after your drums and dance stre and dignity todaY! Thx Amia
So glad this blessed you, Carrie!
i AM using the lord to pull the weeds out of a non-healthy relationship. the weeds are the enemy and i need to find new growth.after reading these posts it had me sit for a few hours and reflect on how i can let god guide me and get away.i struggle with the weeds. i seem to pull them out one at a time keeping some around. i really need to get the m all out and see the good being done. dear jesus guide me away from the weed and the enemy and send me to see the light in the fresh fields. in jesus name. amen