Are You Striving or Tending?

Last month we talked about living from rest and the silent grief that can rob us of the rest God has provided for His family. This month we’d like to share more about a broken mindset that keeps rest just out of reach. 

We recently heard a message about resting in the Lord, in which the teacher spoke about the difference between striving for provision vs. tending provision. In the Garden of Eden, God provided everything Adam and Eve needed to live and thrive. He created the world in everything in it. He created humanity. And then He rested.

Eden was a place of life, at perfect rest in God. It wasn’t until Adam and Eve were exiled, that they had to work for their own survival. 

Instead of trusting God and His Word to them, Adam and Eve sought their own provision by eating from the one tree God told them to avoid - the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This caused a catastrophic series of events which led to Adam and Eve’s exile from the Garden. Outside of Eden, they had to seek and strive for their own provision. 

Every day thereafter, God has been working to restore humanity back to the perfect rest of Eden. Jesus Christ is that perfect rest. 

The scriptures tell us that in Christ we have everything we need for life and godliness: 

Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him  with all our hearts! Ephesians 1:3

Everything we could ever need for life and godliness  has already been deposited in us by his divine power. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing him who has called us by name and invited us to come to him through a glorious manifestation of his goodness. 2 Peter 1:3

And that Christ is our Rest: 

So we conclude that there is still a full and complete Sabbath-rest  waiting for believers  to experience. As we enter into God’s faith-rest life we cease from our own works, just as God celebrates his finished works and rests in them. So then we must be eager to experience this faith-rest life, so that no one falls short by following the same pattern of doubt and unbelief. Hebrews 4:9-11

When we accept Jesus, we enter into His perfect rest – because everything we ever have needed, do need, or will need IS accomplished in Him. We are His and nothing – NOTHING can separate us from Him. 

We don’t have to strive for anything God has for us. It is ALL OURS in Christ. Through Christ, we are Sons and Daughters of the most high God. God is our Father, and everything that belongs to Him, belongs to us. 

So what does this look like in day-to-day life? Much of it has to do with perspective.

The teacher gave an example: If you were a salesman, you could think of yourself as going out hunting for sales or you could see yourself as waiting on and discovering the sales God has already provided. 

At Anchor and Key, we have been functioning in a full time capacity for most of the past 10 years. We’ve built a lot of relationships, structures and teachings to assist the Body of Christ to walk in a fresh understanding of living in freedom. As people with a mission and full of ideas, we’ve enjoyed expansive growth structurally and relationally through the years. We’ve trained, and taught and built year after year.

So when the Lord spoke the word of 2026 as “TEND” it took a moment to reorient. Building, designing and creating is our thing! Now we were to just “tend”? What did that even mean?

As I spent time listening for more understanding of His word to us, I noticed it created a tension in me. As I allowed myself to feel the peace and rest that only His spirit brings when we surrender our own plans into His hands, I knew this was a season to value all that has been given to us in these last 10 years… the house, the ministers, those we love.

The truth is that He has created these things around us and this season He is breathing depth into us and others. What a beautiful gift! He truly values all that He has built inside of us and around us and now it's time to just allow it to bloom.

The last few months have taught me to slow down, look around and breathe. To take care of myself, my home, finish all the little projects that hadn’t been finished, take a real assessment of my closest relationships - my marriage, my adult kids and my parents. Look at the churches and people we’ve trained and prioritize the most important needs, instead of barreling ahead to do and build “new” things. 

We have watched adult children get married, get divorced, move to new cities, have children and find out who they are and what fills their lives with light. We’ve also watched our parents grow older and the challenges that brings. We need to give these things space in our lives this year. And we’re so thankful for those of you that stand with us, not just because of what we do or how much we do, but because of WHO WE ARE. We cannot be more grateful for your love and life-giving prayer. 

Now, how about you? Will you consider asking God to reveal how you might be striving to provide for yourself, places where He is inviting you to welcome and tend all that He has already provided?

Keep in mind that the difference between ‘tending provision’ and ‘seeking provision’ is first and foremost a mindset, a shift in perspective. You may not change what you’re doing so much as how you are doing it. You may still go about your work everyday, but you will do so remembering that God has provided the work and you are merely tending to it as you rest in Him. 

But God could also reveal something entirely new. He may open your eyes to see His provision in a fresh way, inviting you to lay down what you’ve been striving for, so you can receive what He’s offering. Maybe there are things you’ve been called to that you haven’t stepped into because fear and busyness have been monopolizing your attention. 

Take a few moments, wherever you are to ask him and He will show you. 

We love you!

The Anchor & Key Team