And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (TLB)

Our union in Christ is an act of God’s self-giving love and grace.

Christ not only justifies us, but He also sanctifies us, causing us to conform to His image in both character and conduct. It is His Spirit's presence and power in us that transforms us from within to become more and more like Him.

When we become more like Christ, we experience and enjoy the fellowship and love of the Father as He did. We are empowered with such faith and trust in God that believing in Him is not a struggle, but rather a source of rest. We don’t have to earn or maintain our acceptance because our salvation is given to us by grace and guaranteed in Christ.

Our remaining and abiding in Christ and all His fullness bring continual rest to our souls. It is a gift and a blessing He offers us when we live the way He intends for us to live. In other words, rest is the identifying mark of true Christian living and spirituality. Rest doesn’t mean we don’t serve or give, but it does mean we now serve and give in a new and living way.

Finding our rest in Christ gives us confidence in prayer, and our confidence is in Him who is capable of accomplishing infinitely more than we can ask or think through His power at work in us (Ephesians 3:20). This is due to the fact that as we abide in Christ and He in us, His word lives in us, and as we pray consistently according to His word, we can be assured that our prayers will be heard and answered (John 15:7).

Christ's words are profound and revelatory truths of who we are and what we have in Him, and He will fulfil every word He has spoken. The implications are far-reaching. The more we understand our identity and inheritance, the more we cease striving and struggling in lots of ways. We simply believe and receive all things with childlike faith through the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name.