For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.
—2 Corinthians 1:5

I think everyone faces anxieties and worries from time to time, or rather more often than we would like. And sometimes, on top of that, we may condemn ourselves when we try not to worry, because Jesus said: “Let not your heart be troubled“, and it just doesn’t work. And if we also hear that anxieties and worries can stop God’s grace, that only pours more self-condemnation into an already boiling pot.

In fact, fighting worries and anxieties is the same as fighting sin. Worry and fear are also a kind of sin, because it is written: “whatever is not from faith is sin” [Rom.14:23]. And worries and anxieties clearly come from unbelief.

Beloved, I have wonderful news for you — there is no need to fight worries and fears, much less to condemn yourself for them. Worries and anxieties cannot stop God’s grace, just as sin cannot stop it. On the contrary, the Word of God says: “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” [Rom.5:20] When we make mistakes, that is exactly the time not to condemn ourselves, but to turn to God and receive a fresh portion of grace from Him. Jesus said to Paul, when he was struggling with his weakness: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” [2 Cor.12:9]. At the very moment when we feel weak, helpless and unworthy, and also in the area of our life where we have the most problems and are powerless to change anything, that is exactly where God’s grace is more than enough. That is exactly where not our strength, but the strength of Christ is manifested!

Comfort Is Rest in Action

What is anxiety? In Russian the word for it, “bespokoystvo”, literally means the absence of rest. And since it is spelled with “bes”, which means a demon, it is probably a demon that keeps us from entering God’s rest. That’s a joke, by the way. In Hebrew the word for rest is nuach (H5118), which consists of two Hebrew letters, Nun and Chet. The name Noah comes from this very word. And if you add the letter Mem to the word for rest, you get the word nacham (H5162), which means comfort. It was precisely when Noah was born that his father said: “This one will comfort us concerning our work…” [Gen.5:29]. In other words, rest gives or produces comfort.

The letter Mem stands for water, or the Holy Spirit, so comfort is the rest that the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts and that flows out of us like a mountain river and living water.

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
—Genesis 6:5-6

When unrest multiplied on the earth in the days of Noah, how did the Lord respond? It is written that He was sorry. But if you look at this word in the original, it is our word nacham, which means comfort. The Lord in fact was comforted. Why? Because He had made man. When God created the first man, Adam, on the sixth day, what did the Lord do next, on the seventh day? The Word of God says that God rested on the seventh day, or entered His rest [Gen.2:2]. The same happened in the days of Noah, or of the second Adam, Jesus Christ.

When Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and struggled with the flesh, He was grieved in His heart and said: “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch” [Mar.14:34]. He was in agony, in the utmost state of fears, anxieties and worries, and sweat mixed with blood rolled down His brow. But when the Lord said “It is finished!” and gave up His spirit, God entered His rest. God was comforted that He had created a new man, created in righteousness and holiness in the image of Christ. And whoever is in Christ is a new creation! Anxieties and fears all burned up on the cross and drowned in the waters of the flood. Jesus redeemed us from the constant struggle with the flesh, which always opposes the Spirit. The Word of God says: “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” [Heb.4:10].

The Comforter Leads Us into Rest

When Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit, He said: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” [Jhn.14:16]. A name always reflects the main and foremost role. The name Jesus in Hebrew, Yeshua, means salvation, because Jesus is first of all our Savior, and the main thing He does is save. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter (the Helper), so first of all He comforts and leads us into rest.

Jesus said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” [Mat.11:28]. Jesus called the Holy Spirit another Comforter, because the Holy Spirit speaks the same words of Jesus, which are spirit and life: “Turn to Me, all you who are anxious and troubled, and I will comfort you.”

When we struggle with some problem or situation, we think we will calm down when the situation is resolved. But rest does not come from outside and does not depend on circumstances. Rest comes from within and is poured out by the Holy Spirit. When we grieve, struggle, fight, worry, fret and are troubled, that is exactly when God’s rest and God’s comfort abound in our situation. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ” [2 Cor.1:5] What are the sufferings of Christ? Christ’s struggle with the flesh. When the flesh attacks with insults, sticks and stones, when the flesh, outward or inward, wars against the Spirit, at that very moment our comfort abounds through Christ. That is exactly when rest abounds in our life.

Perhaps you will ask: “All right. Maybe I’ll calm down, but how will that change the situation I’m in?” Your situation was already changed for the better when Jesus said: “It is finished”. When we abide in rest, we are in agreement with the finished work of Jesus on the cross. The Holy Spirit always leads us into agreement with the finished work of the cross so that what Christ has already accomplished is manifested in our life! David sings about the same thing: “Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart” [Ps.37:4]. Abide in God’s rest, and He will fulfill all your desires.

So when we are anxious, worried and troubled, there is no need to keep fighting, trying to get rid of the worries, and there is no point in condemning ourselves for them. On the contrary — where anxiety multiplies, God’s comfort abounds much more. In whatever area you struggle with a problem the most, there God’s rest abounds. So, beloved and precious treasures of God, may “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” comfort you in all your tribulation, “that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” [2 Cor.1:3-4]