These days a great many Christians—good, God-loving folks—are extremely weary. They shouldn't be, but they are. I'm not criticizing them, because there have been times in the past when I felt like the most tired of the bunch. I was once so tired, I asked God to let me go on to heaven so I could get some rest.

Of course, He didn't pay any attention to that request.

What He did instead was show me how to be free from that fatigue. He revealed to me through His Word that I didn't have to put off resting until I got to heaven. I could—and should—be resting here and now.

That's right. Hebrews 4:3 says, "We which have believed do enter into rest." It doesn't say we will enter rest someday. It says we do enter it today.

Granted, the whole idea of resting is strange to most of the Body of Christ. Religion has so robbed us of the rest of God that most of us haven't even known that rest was available...much less how to enter into it. The fact is, God's rest is ours if we'll do what it takes to enter it.

So if you've been tired—tired of struggling and striving and worrying—and you'd like to kick back and enjoy your life in God for a change, pay attention here. You're about to learn how to do it.

A Day In The Life Of Jesus
Someone might say, "Well now, Brother Copeland, you wouldn't be so quick to tell me I could rest if you knew my schedule. The demands of my life and ministry are overwhelming. The devil is hounding me from every side and my circumstances are really rough. There's no way anyone could rest in the middle of all this."

Jesus could; we know He could because when we read the New Testament, we see times when He faced those same situations:

And when Jesus had come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, 'What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!'
(Matt. 14-18, 23-27)

Actually, to see the complete picture of this particular day in Jesus' life, you need to start in Matthew 5 because that day didn't start with the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. It started with Jesus going up onto the mountain and preaching one of the most extensive messages recorded in the New Testament. I'm sure that meeting took up much of the day.

When he was finished, Jesus came down and headed for Peter's house, no doubt so He could rest and eat supper. But He was delayed because on the way, He was approached by a man with leprosy and by a Roman centurion whose sick servant needed healing. Jesus ministered to both those situations, then headed on to the house.

When He got there, He found Peter's mother-in-law was sick, so He ministered to her. She got out of bed healed and prepared their evening meal. But Jesus' ministry that day still wasn't finished.

When evening came, multitudes came to the door. Many of them were sick. Others were demon-possessed. Don't you know that was a welcome sight after such a full day? But Jesus didn't fall on His face and cry and kick the dirt. He didn't throw a fit and say, "Oh God, I'm so exhausted. I hope I have enough anointing left to heal all these people. I've already been preaching and healing all day long. These people just expect too much of me!" He just went outside and did the work His Father had given Him to do. He healed the sick and cast out devils.

When He finished, He didn't get to climb into a soft, warm bed, either. He got into a boat and a storm hit. Circumstances were so bad, His disciples were sure they would all die. But what was He doing? He was sleeping.

There in that boat, with the wind howling around Him and the waves slapping over the side, soaking Him with water, He was at rest. Think about that. He wasn't in a cabin cruiser. He was out there exposed to the elements, but they didn't bother Him one bit.

Believe and Obey
How did Jesus enjoy that kind of rest in the midst of those kinds of situations? He did it by faith. Jesus was full of faith and had entered into the rest of His Father. That was why He could lay down in the back of the boat and go to sleep.

The disciples could have enjoyed that same kind of rest if they'd used that same kind of faith. They had been given a faith command by the Son of the living God. He had told them to go to the other side of that lake. So they had the power and authority to do it. That must be true. Otherwise, Jesus didn't have any right to get on to them for being afraid.

The only obstacle that stood between the disciples and the rest of God was their "little faith." Jesus had big faith, so He had big rest. They had little faith, so they had little rest. Remember that: Big faith=big rest. Little faith=little rest. It was big faith that enabled Jesus to teach and minister to the multitudes from morning till night—and do it in the rest of God.

It was faith that kept Him from being overwhelmed with the needs of the people. It was Jesus' faith in His Heavenly Father that kept Him at rest - regardless of the circumstances. Jesus, even though He is the sinless, spotless Son of God, didn't carry out His ministry trusting in His own divine abilities. On the contrary, the Bible says He laid aside the privileges of deity before He came to the earth. So He ministered not as God, but as a man in covenant with God.

Jesus wasn't trusting in Himself. In fact, He said, "I do nothing of Myself. It's the Father in Me that does the works."

Jesus' faith was in the Word of God and in the anointing of God within and upon Him. He knew that anointing would supply the power to bring God's Word to pass. So He had nothing to worry about! He didn't have to heal anyone. All He had to do was what God said to do, and go where He said to go...and God Himself would take care of the rest. God was the One Who did the healing. God was the One Who stopped the waves. All Jesus had to do was believe and obey. Notice, I said He obeyed.

Sometimes we take for granted Jesus' unquestioning obedience to God. We assume it was easier for Him to obey than it is for us. But think about it for a moment. Jesus was physically tired that evening. I'm sure He would have enjoyed spending the night at Peter's dry, comfortable house.

It would have been reasonable for Him to say, "I'm having a good meeting here. The crowds are good. People are getting healed and delivered. I believe I'll just stay here and keep this meeting going for a few days."

But Jesus didn't do what was comfortable. He didn't do what was reasonable. He did what the Spirit of God told Him to do. So He left a good meeting and a good bed, crossed the lake in bad weather in the middle of the night, and went to face two demon-possessed people and a whole city of pig-loving unbelievers (see Matt. 8:28-34).

Jesus knew that no matter what natural evidence there might be to the contrary, as long as He obeyed God in faith, He didn't have to concern Himself with the outcome of any situation. He knew God had it well in hand, and He could enjoy complete rest.

Source: One Word From God Can Change Your Health by Kenneth Copeland.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers