Settle Your Soul (Part 4): Real Rest
Photo Courtesy of Aaron Burden Photography
The reward of Rest
Nobody recognizes our need for help better than God Himself.
In the opening chapters of Genesis, we discover this very truth. God created Adam & entrusted him with caring for the Garden of Eden. The Lord then makes the following observation:
“…“It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep…the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs…Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.”
The context in which Adam receives the gift of Eve is eye-opening. It’s not a picture of a man working himself to death. Nor do we find a man overcome with worry & distress. The greatest help came from—
a place of deep rest.
Adam was simply a son of God, who received what children receive when they’re resting in the arms of a loving Father. He received help that was “just right for him”. God wants to give you help that’s just right for you.
He wants you to experience real rest.
We know that the Lord Himself “rested from His work” on the seventh day (Sabbath) of creation. This rest means He “stopped, ceased, or put an end to” what He was doing.
God’s rest is symbolic of the special rest He has for you and I. As Jesus said in Mark 2:27 (NLT):
“The Sabbath [rest] was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.”
God’s rest is capable of meeting our needs. Because we are called to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1), we too can cease from what we’re doing.
We can enter His Presence & enjoy God’s best. We can experience—
the reward of rest.
the bridge of belief
All throughout Scripture, there are examples of God leading His people to a place of rest. Unfortunately, not all people were willing to enter. Such as the generation of Israelites who failed to enter God’s Promised Land.
“So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God.
So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today…”
What was the “disobedience” that disqualified the Israelites from entering? It was a failure to trust in God; it was “because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest (Hebrews 3:19, NLT).
Their disobedience was unbelief.
Today is the day to recognize that God’s rest is not something to achieve, it’s a rest you receive. How do you receive it? You believe.
“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
Have faith that God isn’t looking for performers; He’s looking for people who are genuinely willing to place their faith in Him.
People who will let go of their preconceived notions & efforts. People who will allow Him to lead them through their unbelief.
People who desire real relief.
THE PRINCIPLE OF REST
God has established & reconfirmed the principle of rest many times over. In Exodus 23:12 (NLT) He told the Israelites:
“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working.
This gives your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners living among you to be refreshed”
In Psalm 23:2-3 (NLT) King David says:
“He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.”
One of Jesus’ most well-known invitations was a call for the “weary and burdened to come to Him for rest.” What is God showing us? He’s showing us a way of life that’s infinitely greater than our own.
God’s revealing a pattern for healthy living. He’s revealing that real rest isn’t just experienced one-day a week, it’s experienced daily in Christ. God’s rest was designed to refresh & renew you.
God’s rest was made to restore you.
God’s greatest desire isn’t for you to simply catch your breath; His desire is to breathe new life into you.
Don’t settle for anything less than God’s vision for rest. Ask Him to reveal where you’ve fallen out of alignment with His Way. Give God permission to—
change course today.
THE PROVISION OF REST
“The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.”
The assurance of this Scripture doesn’t say “if” you are dry but “when”. There will be seasons & many moments of life in which we experience dryness. We need only to look to our “ever-flowing spring”. Our God—
Our provision.
In the story of the “Poor Widow”, we find a woman whose husband has died. Leaving her with the family’s debt & no means to work. Because creditors are coming to claim her two sons as collateral, she reaches out to a man of God (Elisha) for help.
“What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied.
And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons…Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.”
So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim!
“Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons.
“There aren’t any more!” he told her…When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.”
God took a woman who had “nothing” & did “something” that only He could do. He took a story about a person’s limited capability & turned it into a story of His unlimited capacity. Our God wants us to know Him as our Provider. To have a life story—
that reflects his glory.
Just like the widow, we are all called to live with an obedient faith. A faith that declares: “God, I’ll do everything I can, while trusting you to do everything I can’t.”
In one area or another, we all have another step of faith to take. God is inviting you to rest in the assurance that He is your Provision.
He is the One who will continue to meet your needs. Our God is not only enough—
he is more than enough.
The revelation of rest
“Rest” is a place for God’s people.
It’s a principle to live by and even a means of provision. But the picture of rest is incomplete if you don’t know the person of rest. The Sabbath doesn’t just represent one-day on earth, it represents the one-way to Heaven.
“…I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless.
For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.”
Galatians 2:18-21| NLT
Why would we be sinners that “try hard” when God has called us to be Sons who serve well? Just as Adam received a gift He did not earn or deserve, Jesus is our undeserved gift from God. God saw our condition and determined—
Jesus was just the right help that we needed.
True Sabbath Rest is found when we stop trying to earn our way to God. It’s salvation for those who choose to accept the finished work of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the “Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8, NIV). Jesus is—
The revelation of rest.
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today’s Takeaways
God’s rest is capable of meeting your needs.
Let God give you a life story that reflects his glory.
Jesus is our sabbath rest.