Rest: It's a good thing





     "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" - Matthew 11:28

     When people hear the word rest, most would conjure up ideas of sleeping, sipping a cocktail on the beach or just relaxing with a book on your couch. In Christian circles rest is used to describe a day in the week which we are supposed to put aside our day jobs and take time to focus on family and God. Rest is an important part of living a productive life because, after all, we are not machines and need to take time out to gain perspective and re-charge our batteries, so to speak.

     But, I believe there is more to rest than just the physical and psychological advantages. God has instituted a state of rest for all believers to live in, not only on a certain day or at an allocated time, but rather as a permanent spiritual state.  When we are at rest in the spirit it affects every area of our lives, as everything we see in the physical is preceded in the spiritual.

"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His." - Hebrews 4:9-10 

     The state of rest is available to every believer. The writer of Hebrews compares the rest that we have access to, to the rest that God entered into after the six days of creation. That we have no right in relying on our works any longer, but rather on everything that God has done for us. A place of rest, for every believer, is in fact a place of faith. It takes the onus off us to perform our religious duties to please God, rather placing the emphasise of our walk on putting faith in what God has already done for us; redeeming us from our sins and giving us everything we need to live a victorious Christian life.

"Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience" - Hebrews 4:11

     Entering into His rest doesn't happen automatically after we get saved, it is a deliberate attempt to live a life of faith. Once we understand that there is nothing that we can do to make God love us more, then we realize that we need to have faith in what He has already done. This is the most productive place we can be in our spiritual lives, where we realize our efforts are futile and His provision is more than enough

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" - Matthew 11:29

     Jesus is our rest. It is not a day or an idea, it is a spiritual reality, one that is imperative for us as Christians to walk in if we are going to finish the race strong and make a difference along the way. For too long now, we have relied on our own efforts and have gotten worn out quickly, dropping from exhaustion along the way. Let's be diligent to enter His rest by His grace, let's take Jesus up on His offer to take up His yoke. Rest in Him and you will be surprised at how productive you'll become!

*All scripture quoted from the NKJV