Rest and Receive
"Rest isn’t inactivity—it’s receptivity. The chair is already set in the light."
Based on “Rest and Receive” from Abide Above
Photo credit: Unsplash
Today’s entry from Abide Above gently guides us back to a truth that many miss in their eager pursuit of spiritual growth: transformation in Christ doesn’t come from striving, but from receiving. J.C. Metcalfe reminds us that truth—especially the truth of our union with Christ—is not something to be snatched from God’s hand through exertion or discipline. It’s something received by grace, as we sit before Him in stillness and dependence.
Many believers attempt to reckon themselves dead to sin and alive to God without first absorbing the glorious truths of their identification with Christ. This only leads to frustration. Reckoning is not the starting point—it’s the outcome of revelation. We don’t jump into action first; we wait, we learn, we trust, and then the Spirit brings reckoning as a fruit of knowing.
Metcalfe draws a contrast between the believer still hoping to attain godliness through effort and the believer who has been brought low by the Spirit and now sees the Cross as not only the place of Jesus’ death for them, but the place of their own death with Him. This shared death opens the doorway to shared life—resurrection life—not as a goal to achieve, but a reality to walk in by faith.
Personalized Journal Entry in the Voice of the Holy Spirit
I have united you with Christ—not just in promise, but in reality. You were planted together in the likeness of His death so that you would also live in the likeness of His resurrection. You don’t need to chase after what I have already given. Instead, pause. Receive.
You were crucified with Christ. The person you once were—the one trying to be good enough, strong enough, wise enough—was buried with Him. I raised you up with Jesus so that now, it is no longer you who live, but Christ lives in you. I am not asking you to fabricate a new life. I am asking you to trust that the new life is already yours.
Soak in the truth of your identity in Him. Let My Word show you what I see when I look at you: My beloved, holy, and blameless in Christ. I am the One who opens the eyes of your heart to see your co-crucifixion, your co-resurrection, your co-heirship with the Son. You don’t have to force growth. You abide, and I bear fruit.
Wait with Me. Learn of Me. Rest in Me. In that rest, you will find that I am forming Christ in you. The power that raised Him from the dead is not distant or abstract. It is at work within you. I don’t rush the process. I perfect what I begin. I planted you with Him so that you would blossom with Him. Let the seed die, so the life within may rise.
Romans 6:5–11, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3–4, Ephesians 1:17–20, Philippians 1:6
Prayer of Confidence
Father, I thank You for the quiet glory of Your design—that I don’t have to strive to become something You’ve already made me in Christ. You’ve united me to Jesus in His death and resurrection. I no longer have to measure spiritual growth by my efforts, but can now trust that the life of Your Son is my life. You’ve opened my eyes to see that reckoning is not a performance but a response—my heart echoing what is already true in heaven.
I receive today what You’ve already declared: I am dead to sin and alive to You. I rest in Christ and trust You to bring forth fruit in due season. I rejoice in the simplicity of waiting, watching, and receiving. Amen.