I wish I could rest less.
This may be a statement rarely if ever uttered in modern times. As I talk to people, more and more frequently I hear that rest is a high commodity that is very infrequent. People just don’t seem to get rest anymore or are even able to rest when they have a chance. We are always on the go so even when we stop we still feel like we have to keep going. I know this personally as I am one of those people. I don’t know how to rest.
Instead a more accurate statement would be this:
I wish I wasn’t so restless.
Do you feel that tension in your life? Are you restless? Rest is something that I believe we all long for whether we get it or not. It is something built inside of us as humans. We are created in the image of God and something that God did was to rest. On the seventh day He rested. He built that into the law of Moses so that on the seventh day there would be rest. He knew that we would need rest. We want it and need it but struggle to find it.
As Joshua was leading God’s people into the Promised Land, one of the promises that God had made is that they would receive not only the land but they would also experience rest. The bible very clearly tells us that there is only one place that we can receive rest and that is in the presence of God which would be in this land that He would give them.
Joshua 1:13 – “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’
This ultimately though wouldn’t be satisfying. So God took it to the next level. With this background we see God himself, Jesus, inviting each of us into true rest through Him. This rest comes ultimately in the form of salvation through Jesus Christ, as one of the bible’s most important images for salvation is the idea of rest. Jesus said:
Come to me all who are weary and I will give you rest – Matthew 11:28
Coming to Jesus is the only way to find rest. Belief in Christ then leads to eternity with Him where there will be complete and full rest in His presence.
Revelation 14:13 – Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
So do you need to rest less or are you restless? Find rest in Christ in this life and know a time will come where we will experience final and complete rest through Christ as our Savior for eternity. I can’t wait!