Here are four ways to get better at passing the "test of rest."

It was 2:40 p.m. when I pulled up to the bank.

I had just discovered I desperately needed to send a Cashier’s check to another city by 3:00 p.m

Driving to the bank, I asked the Lord for His help.

The bank manager said, “I don’t see how we can make it.”

Will I relax and let the Lord carry it, or will I get frantic and try to force it to happen by any means necessary?

We sailed past 3:00 p.m. with it unsent.  Could I still rest in the Lord?

The good news?  It went through anyway, even though it was 15 minutes over the deadline!

Once again, I faced the “test of rest.”  I THINK I passed it.

Here are four tips to help in your moment of greatest anxiety:

1.  Be sure you have truly given something over to God.

“Rest” is the moment you hand over a “white-knuckle" situation to God.

It’s His now.

You become disconnected from the result.  You are allowing Him to carry it from that moment forward.

Even if it doesn’t turn out as expected, you TRUST He has something better in mind.

2. There is always a chance for change if you remain in your rest.

When deadlines go by, when it looks hopeless, “remain in your rest.”

I have seen situations change days later after a disappointing result.  Stay in your rest.

If you get frantic, if you get mad at God, if you are filled with hopeless regret, those chances go to “zero.”

Stay in your rest with God and continue to thank Him for working all things “together for the good of those who love Him.”

3. Don’t “grab the wheel” through fear and desperation.

I’ve seen people marry the wrong person out of fear they would never marry.

They see gaping holes in their character but excuse them with “they will grow out of them.”  They don’t.  

Ask God for your partner, then enter your rest.  

The same is true with a business partner or investor.  Stay in your rest with jobs, houses, and real estate.  

Wherever there is a pressurized environment, you face the “test of rest.”  Resist the temptation to grab the wheel.

4. Patience lifts you above the earthly rat race.

Flying cars will be here in this decade.  Imagine leaving behind the interstate parking lot and flying above the fog and smog of the city!

Patience is a higher plane of life.  You can think clearly.  You have a better perspective.  Your emotions, frustrations, and even anger calm down.

Whatever is crushing you with pressure today, hand it over to God.  Enter the “test of rest.”  Relax in His providence, love for you, and protection over you.

I know all this sounds good, but can you pass the test when the clock is ticking at 2:59 p.m. at the bank?

Yes, you will!