Word of the Week - Rest
Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30
Rest is an interesting and important human need. Similar to peace, we all desire and require Rest to remain healthy. Rest is powerful because it can be a source of refreshment and new energy to empower and sustain. All too often the more we need Rest the harder it is to find, which leads to restlessness. It seems there is just too much going on within us and around us to enter a place of true Rest. There is always something that needs to be tended to or we have something bothering us in regards to our internal struggles, relationships or responsibilities. The truth of the matter is that we live in a fallen world where there will always be something that is incomplete or needs attention. In fact, from the beginning of mankind God designed life so that we would have to work and toil in life and be dependent upon God and others. This allows us to grow and develop into what God made us to be. This is the process of life and sanctification. At some point we have to accept the fact that no matter how hard we try, we will never be good enough or be able to do enough to justify ourselves. We could not do it so He did it for us, this is the good news of the Gospel!! Only through true faith and dependence on God can we find the place of deep soulful Rest to receive the strength and energy we need to live life to the full and have a healthy soul. This type of Rest is only found in Christ as we understand God’s love and His sovereignty over our lives. “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty” Psalm 91:1. So how do we enter this place of true Rest? I believe it starts by first acknowledging that we are not in control of our lives but God is. If we really believe this at the depths of our soul then we will gain peace and serenity and become dependent upon the Lord. We also need to pursue and develop an intimate relationship and connectivity with God so we can receive the reassurance that He loves us and He is for us; therefore all is well. As a father of 3 daughters it is important for me and my girls to remain connected at a deeper level so they are reassured of my love for them and the fact that I will be there for them when they need me. Similarly, we need to find that place of constant reassurance that God is with us and He loves us deeply and unconditionally. There is an adversary of our soul that would love us to never to Rest or receive this degree love and security in our relationship with God because it is so powerful. This is why our daily abiding relationship with God is so important to our spiritual health and finding Rest. Finally, we must simply trust God and take Him for His Word. If we truly trust God and His word then we know that He has our back and “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5-6 Living in the place of faith, trust, intimacy and connectivity to God through His Word results in security that allows us to find true soulful rest no matter what circumstances we face in life.Next week I will share about the benefits of the Sabbath and how God instituted the Sabbath for us so we can stay healthy and filled with faith.I hope you can find a place of true Rest in Christ today.-Duane