Enter Wild: A 5-Day Devotional by Carlos WhittakerSample

“Enter Rest”

The first step in the journey toward a wild faith filled with abundance and peace is going to seem counterintuitive. What if the way we catch up with God is actually by slowing down? I call this first step Entering Rest.

Let’s rewind more than a few centuries back to the days of Moses and the Exodus. Specifically to the scary moment when the fleeing Israelites looked behind them and saw the Egyptian army coming in hot and looking in front of them and seeing nothing but the Red Sea. The Israelites complained to Moses, “Now we will die in the desert” (Exodus 14:12, ncv).

I think Moses’s response to the Israelites when they were frozen with dread and not able to hear from God is incredibly current and timely. Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Stand still and you will see the Lord save you today” (verse 13).

This was how they were about to get saved? By standing still?

Guess what happened when they stood still. They relaxed. And they waited long enough for God to come in and work in ways only God can work. The waters split and the people were saved.

Oh, friends—those of you who have been trying so hard to hustle your way to an intimate encounter with Jesus—what if it has nothing to do with the hustle and everything to do with the hesitation?

The point of Entering Rest is not simply to rest. It is to hear from God. We slow down so we can hear God. That is where wild really begins.

For you and me, Entering Rest means praying daily, reading Scripture, using a journal to write our questions and God’s answers, and making specific requests of God. As we do all this, God may not part a literal sea for us, but He’ll open a way to a future that is packed with thrills and His activity!

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, 

Would You please reveal to me the parts of my life that are keeping me from hearing You? I surrender the chaotic part of my life to You. Help me lower the volume of my life.

I ask that You speak specifically to me in the coming days. Show me the way.

In the name of Jesus, amen.