Knowing Him Daily

02.May.2026

There’s a rest that comes when you stop trying to earn what’s already yours. When you stop striving to prove you’re enough, when you stop performing for approval, when you stop carrying the weight of your own life on your own shoulders. That rest is only available to those who have made a deliberate, intentional choice to lay everything down at the feet of Jesus and say: Your will, not mine. Your glory, not mine. Your way, not mine.

That’s the rest the prophet speaks of in Zephaniah: “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 God doesn’t just tolerate you. He rejoices over you. He rests in His love for you. And when you finally understand that, when you finally let that sink deep, you can rest too.

Jesus invites us into this explicitly: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 The rest He’s offering isn’t the rest of doing nothing. It’s the rest of taking on your burden. It’s the yoke of Jesus, which means you’re not pulling alone anymore. His strength carries it. His will guides it. Your job is simply to stay yoked to Him.

And John reminds us of the foundation this rest is built on: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” 1 John 3:1 We are called the sons and daughters of God. Not servants. Not employees. Children. And (most) children rest in the love of their Father. They don’t have to earn it. They don’t have to prove it. They can simply be.

Marilyn Hickey understood this at a pivotal moment early in her relationship with her future husband Wally. God gave her a choice. You can live for yourself, follow your own path, and you’ll go to heaven anyway. But if you follow me the way I’m asking you to, you’ll live a life you never could have imagined. It was at that moment she drew a line in the sand with intentionality. From that day forward, she would live completely unto the Lord, not unto herself. She made a simple, daily choice: “Good morning, Father, good morning Jesus, good morning Holy Spirit, this is your beloved Marilyn,” and she meant it. Every single day, with intention, she set her life apart for Him and His glory. And her entire legacy, saved souls, healed bodies, delivered minds, a lifetime of faithfulness, flows from that one deliberate choice to rest in being beloved by surrendering to His will.

That’s what real rest looks like. Not passivity, nor checking out. Active, intentional surrender. Waking up every morning and saying with your whole heart, “Good morning Father, good morning Jesus, good morning Holy Spirit, this is your beloved [your name],” and then living like you mean it. Living completely unto the Lord. Letting His joy be your strength. Letting His will be your peace. Resting in the fact that you don’t have to carry your own life anymore because you’ve laid it at His feet.

May we who want to follow God with that kind of intensity make a similar choice. Not halfway. Not on Sundays. Not when it’s convenient. A deliberate, intentional, line-in-the-sand choice to live completely unto the Lord and rest in being His beloved.

Think about and meditate on this: what would it mean for you to make that choice today? To wake up tomorrow morning and say, “Good morning, Father, good morning Jesus, good morning Holy Spirit, this is your beloved [your name],” and then live the entire day as if you meant what you just said? To stop carrying your own life and let Jesus carry it with you? To rest in being beloved? “For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭30‬ ‭Of what you’re doing is difficult, I challenge you to investigate whether or not you’ve fully surrendered. 

If you’ve never invited Jesus into your heart, today is the day. Pray this: 

Dear Heavenly Father, 

Thank You for sending Jesus to die on the Cross just for me. I admit that I have sinned, and I repent. I ask You to forgive me. I believe that He died and rose again. Right now, I make Him the Lord of my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. My sins are washed away, my past is forgiven, and my future is bright. Help me to live like the beloved that I already am in Christ. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Make today count and see you tomorrow.