I Will Give You Rest
As we all know, life can be extremely busy. Between our responsibilities and our desires, our minds are constantly on the go. When you add to that all of the daily commitments (work, church, family, civic organizations, etc.), I am sure many of us are exhausted. I for one am in a constant state of tired. It doesn’t take me long at all to fall asleep at any given moment. If I am moving constantly, that’s one thing but the moment that I sit down and take a breather from the day, it’s very likely that I will fall asleep within 20 minutes.
Although being tired is OK, and it definitely happens as we work our way through life, God did not intend for us to "grind" our lives away. God has been very specific about rest and what it means, since the beginning of time. After God spoke the world into existence, making day and night, animals, mankind, and everything that was a specifically addressed during creation, he said his creation was good, and then he rested. (Genesis 1:1-31, Genesis 2:1-3). God set a clear model of how we should go about our lives from the very beginning: we should work, we should create, we should accomplish, and we should rest. So why don’t we do that? Not only do we need to give our physical bodies rest, but we also need to give our minds and our spirits rest as well. Here's what the Bible says regarding rest for the mind, body, and spirit.
Rest for your Mind Just last month (May), the United States observed Mental Health Awareness Month, which began in 1949. I recall seeing many commercials regarding mental health, and even heard multiple stories on various national news outlets encouraging people to take mental health seriously, with the slogan, “be kind to your mind.” The Bible encourages us to do the same thing. Whether momentary, situational, or long term, many of the people that we read about in the Bible had mental struggles, including King Saul. Saul's jealousy of David caused God to send an evil spirit to torment him. As a result, Saul's jealousy provoked him to unthinkable actions, including attempting to kill David on various occasions. (1 Samuel 18:10-11) Prior to succumbing to the false thoughts that Saul had regarding David, it was David whose God given talents and abilities were able to take Saul from being tormented by evil spirits, to a place of peace in God and mental rest. Each time David would play the harp for Saul, a calm overcame him, which resulted in the evil spirits fleeing. (1 Samuel 16:23) If you struggle to rest mentally, how can you connect with God in a way that will bring the rest and peace that you need?
Rest for your Body Many of us are familiar with the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 men and their families, with five fish and two loaves of bread. Prior to that miracle, there was a period of time that the apostles went on a ministry tour. During this ministry tour, the apostles conducted great works in the name of the Lord and taught many things. After they shared the happenings of their ministry tour, Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:30-32) If you continue reading in your Bible through verse 44, you will get insight to all that happened on this day, as Jesus and the apostles fed all of these people. As I read this entire passage from a perspective of rest, I truly had an “aha” moment. With all of the work that Jesus knew would take place, with all of the people that Jesus knew he and the apostles would eventually serve, I imagine Jesus knew it would be a daunting task. I believe Jesus wanted the apostles to take the opportunity to rest their bodies, before executing this great work, that thousands of years later we would have documented in our Bibles. Between the work of a ministry tour, and the work of feeding thousands of people, rest was required. Just as God set the example of rest after a week of work in Genesis, Jesus carried out that example by declaring a period of rest between assignments. We too should follow the examples in the Word regarding rest for our bodies. We put so much wear and tear on our bodies with all of the things that we do from day to day and week to week. Some of the things we do may be required as part of our life responsibilities, some things may contribute kingdom building, and some things are just plain unnecessary. Not only do we owe it to our health to rest, but as Believes, it’s important to follow the examples in the Word regarding rest. Either Jesus is our example or he isn’t. If he is indeed our example, then we should follow his lead and make rest for our bodies a priority.
Rest for your Spirit As we live or lives, we often come across many situations that can cause our spirits to become weak. Our spirits can get tired of doing the right thing with “nothing to show for it”; tired of having to constantly solve complex situations for others who don’t seem to appreciate it; tired of being the one that everyone comes to for their challenges in life; tired of keeping it together; tired of fighting off evil spirits (Ephesians 6:12)…just tired. It is then, when we are clearly burdened and heavy laden, that should recall what Jesus says, “Come to me…I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Not only is that an awesome promise and declaration, but it’s one that takes faith to attain. The only way we will receive the rest that Jesus speaks of is to take the first step and go to him. We don’t get one without the other.
It's clear to me that rest is required to be at our best. There have been many times that I have been on a work deadline working through the evening and as the evening went on, my mind became cloudy, I began reading the same things over and over, and physically, I was fighting to stay awake. When I recognized what was happening and decided to go to bed, I woke up the next day refreshed, with a clear mind, and ready to complete my work assignments. Can you relate? Have you ever felt yourself giving out only to be refreshed the next morning because you listened to your body and decided to rest? God wants us to be at our best. God wants us ready to fight the spiritual war that we have to fight each day. God wants us physically strong for the ministry work that needs to be done here on Earth. What’s one of the best ways to be ready for all we need to do? How can we be ready to learn all that we need to learn and physically be up to the task? How can we keep our souls clean from getting weary from all that we are surrounded by? The answer is simple - internalize God’s word, believe God's word, and follow his instructions, “Come to me…I will give you rest.”
References
Tyndale House Foundation. (1996, 2004, 2015). Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Carol Stream, Illinois. All rights reserved.: Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
Although being tired is OK, and it definitely happens as we work our way through life, God did not intend for us to "grind" our lives away. God has been very specific about rest and what it means, since the beginning of time. After God spoke the world into existence, making day and night, animals, mankind, and everything that was a specifically addressed during creation, he said his creation was good, and then he rested. (Genesis 1:1-31, Genesis 2:1-3). God set a clear model of how we should go about our lives from the very beginning: we should work, we should create, we should accomplish, and we should rest. So why don’t we do that? Not only do we need to give our physical bodies rest, but we also need to give our minds and our spirits rest as well. Here's what the Bible says regarding rest for the mind, body, and spirit.
Rest for your Mind Just last month (May), the United States observed Mental Health Awareness Month, which began in 1949. I recall seeing many commercials regarding mental health, and even heard multiple stories on various national news outlets encouraging people to take mental health seriously, with the slogan, “be kind to your mind.” The Bible encourages us to do the same thing. Whether momentary, situational, or long term, many of the people that we read about in the Bible had mental struggles, including King Saul. Saul's jealousy of David caused God to send an evil spirit to torment him. As a result, Saul's jealousy provoked him to unthinkable actions, including attempting to kill David on various occasions. (1 Samuel 18:10-11) Prior to succumbing to the false thoughts that Saul had regarding David, it was David whose God given talents and abilities were able to take Saul from being tormented by evil spirits, to a place of peace in God and mental rest. Each time David would play the harp for Saul, a calm overcame him, which resulted in the evil spirits fleeing. (1 Samuel 16:23) If you struggle to rest mentally, how can you connect with God in a way that will bring the rest and peace that you need?
Rest for your Body Many of us are familiar with the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 men and their families, with five fish and two loaves of bread. Prior to that miracle, there was a period of time that the apostles went on a ministry tour. During this ministry tour, the apostles conducted great works in the name of the Lord and taught many things. After they shared the happenings of their ministry tour, Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” (Mark 6:30-32) If you continue reading in your Bible through verse 44, you will get insight to all that happened on this day, as Jesus and the apostles fed all of these people. As I read this entire passage from a perspective of rest, I truly had an “aha” moment. With all of the work that Jesus knew would take place, with all of the people that Jesus knew he and the apostles would eventually serve, I imagine Jesus knew it would be a daunting task. I believe Jesus wanted the apostles to take the opportunity to rest their bodies, before executing this great work, that thousands of years later we would have documented in our Bibles. Between the work of a ministry tour, and the work of feeding thousands of people, rest was required. Just as God set the example of rest after a week of work in Genesis, Jesus carried out that example by declaring a period of rest between assignments. We too should follow the examples in the Word regarding rest for our bodies. We put so much wear and tear on our bodies with all of the things that we do from day to day and week to week. Some of the things we do may be required as part of our life responsibilities, some things may contribute kingdom building, and some things are just plain unnecessary. Not only do we owe it to our health to rest, but as Believes, it’s important to follow the examples in the Word regarding rest. Either Jesus is our example or he isn’t. If he is indeed our example, then we should follow his lead and make rest for our bodies a priority.
Rest for your Spirit As we live or lives, we often come across many situations that can cause our spirits to become weak. Our spirits can get tired of doing the right thing with “nothing to show for it”; tired of having to constantly solve complex situations for others who don’t seem to appreciate it; tired of being the one that everyone comes to for their challenges in life; tired of keeping it together; tired of fighting off evil spirits (Ephesians 6:12)…just tired. It is then, when we are clearly burdened and heavy laden, that should recall what Jesus says, “Come to me…I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Not only is that an awesome promise and declaration, but it’s one that takes faith to attain. The only way we will receive the rest that Jesus speaks of is to take the first step and go to him. We don’t get one without the other.
It's clear to me that rest is required to be at our best. There have been many times that I have been on a work deadline working through the evening and as the evening went on, my mind became cloudy, I began reading the same things over and over, and physically, I was fighting to stay awake. When I recognized what was happening and decided to go to bed, I woke up the next day refreshed, with a clear mind, and ready to complete my work assignments. Can you relate? Have you ever felt yourself giving out only to be refreshed the next morning because you listened to your body and decided to rest? God wants us to be at our best. God wants us ready to fight the spiritual war that we have to fight each day. God wants us physically strong for the ministry work that needs to be done here on Earth. What’s one of the best ways to be ready for all we need to do? How can we be ready to learn all that we need to learn and physically be up to the task? How can we keep our souls clean from getting weary from all that we are surrounded by? The answer is simple - internalize God’s word, believe God's word, and follow his instructions, “Come to me…I will give you rest.”
References
Tyndale House Foundation. (1996, 2004, 2015). Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Carol Stream, Illinois. All rights reserved.: Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
Recent
Archive
2024
January
February
July
September
2023
2022
January
February
2021
Categories
no categories
No Comments