Bible Readings: Matthew 11:28-30, Psalms 37:1-7, Hebrews 4:1-11
Why does this four-letter word, “rest”, sound difficult for many of us?
I struggled to pull my heart to focus.
I wanted to do everything!
Pray, study, or at least read something, all while ruminating about blogging and ministry, academic work, and family life in no particular order…
A typical busy bee like me would need a lot of persuasion to simply rest and take time off.
Regardless of how important your mission looks,
there is space and need for your soul to rest.
I know what it is to be under pressure.
With limited time available, we want to do more.
Pressure is something we create and put on ourselves.
Yes, self-inflicted pressure to accomplish more against all odds.
In this bid, we give intangible goals,
run after the next big thing,
compete senselessly even with people we don’t know
and yet we want peace in the midst of the chaos.
We enter our rest only when we surrender.
Pressure makes us worried, stressed, and hassled.
Sometimes we say we work better under pressure, but I beg to disagree.
What kind of pressure exactly?
Pressure the world heaps on our doorsteps?
These days, it’s hard to find folks who are truly burdened for Kingdom business.
You know the truth is we mostly run around for anything but God’s business.
Hoot!
Let’s do a quick check.
What are you worrying over right now?
What we sweat over denies us rest.
We claim to believe the Lord cares for us, but we still want to handle ourselves the way we choose.
Does it mean we stop having plans and desires?
Not at all!
It means we should align our desires with God’s will for our lives.
Here is how we should view it…whether or not the Lord grants us our petition, we remain resolute that He is God over our lives.
Many of us are in the waiting room of life.
We feel the pressure… and our hearts say
“Lord, when is it going to be my turn?”
Hearts that yearn,
hands that grow weary in waiting,
and mouths continually moving in prayers….
restless hearts… when all you can do is wait!
I know what it means to wait and wait.
“Your heart needs to be quiet and at rest”.
Gasp!
Are you in the waiting room of life?
The good news is that rest is available for our tired souls in Christ.
Like sipping coffee or juice or your favourite drink,
there is refreshment for our weary souls.
Ready or not, the miracle of rest begins here.
It begins with where your heart is…
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 26:3
Your heart has to be brought and kept in the Lord.
Bring your heart to focus on Christ through trust.
Like you, I feel restless when life distracts me.
When trust is in place, rest is domicile.
Peace and rest are inseparable.
Your trust grows in the Lord when you seek the Lord with all your heart.
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:
thereby good shall come unto thee.
Job 22:21
In the face of difficult situations,
in the midst of our service in the kingdom,
we need to draw closer to Our Father to find rest.
In the place of rest, we find the strength, refreshing, instruction, and direction we need (Mark 6:31).
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
Jeremiah 6:16
The path of righteousness,
that path that leads to life,
the way that Jesus leads us,
That’s where we need to tread,
We ask for His counsel and listen for His instructions (Isaiah 30:21),
as we continually walk in the path that He chooses for us, then we can embrace our rest.
Did you catch that?
God leads us to our place of rest, and we can’t find it with Him outside the picture.
As I studied Hebrews 4, my attention was drawn to verses 1-3.
We need faith to enter into our rest.
The Word of God needs faith to produce rest for our souls.
The labour is paying careful attention to believing the Word. That’s where our hearts battle; that’s where the enemy tries to engage us.
The intertwined questions of belief, faith, and trust produce the rest we desire. Go over the following scriptures.
Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. Hebrews 4:1-2
And,
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest,
lest any man fall after the same
example of unbelief.
Hebrews 4:11
Enshrine this in your heart: “labour occurs before rest, not the other way around”.
There is a place of heart-work before rest…not rest first.
Your heart needs to be dealt with first; then His overwhelming rest would surround you.
Maybe you are the hard-working mom, or the exhausted stay-at-home wife, or the everyday woman trying to string hope in the ordinary life, in whatever shoes and shoe size you fit; Jesus wants to bear your burden.
It is freeing to hand Jesus the pressures of life.
He is our burden bearer,
He is our yoke breaker.
He is our eternal rest.
There is the invitation; Jesus invites you to the place of His Overwhelming rest.
Rest is a gift from God (Ecclesiastes 3:13).
To reap and enjoy the rewards of labour is God’s gift… what Naomi wanted for Ruth, because she knew how important it is for the soul (Ruth 3:1).
But Jesus boldly invites us in Matthew 11:28-30, ‘come unto me’
Who? –> You that have laboured
–> You that are heavily burdened
Why? –> To give you rest
How do you get the rest your soul needs?
–> By taking on the yoke of Jesus
–> By learning from Jesus
Is the burden you carry the result of prideful lusts, rich gains, and highmindedness?
Is the burden you carry laid upon you by life?
Or do you lose your peace because you think you aren’t doing enough?
Jesus says to you —> come, let Him teach you wisdom for living a satisfied and restful life.
His yoke is easy and His burden light, unlike the world, which gives you a heavy and difficult burden to bear (Psalm 37:1-2).
The world wants you to pursue vain desires that never end or get satisfied.
Hold a bit:
Is the Lord mindful of your desires?
Yes, but He says, commit it to Him. He says, wait on Him. He will grant our desires according to His will. Psalm 37:4
For the icing on the cake:
We will enter into rest because we have believed and have received it with faith.
You enter into your rest when you get the Word mixed with faith in your heart (Hebrews 4:2).
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for giving my soul rest. I thank you for the peace you give me. I bless you, Lord, with all of my heart because it is a gift to receive and enter into rest. Dear Jesus, I invite you into my life, afresh. Let your word be mixed with faith in my heart. Give me your peace, and let my heart rest in you, in Jesus name. Amen.
By His Great Grace,
Ifeoma Samuel.
If this article resonated with you, then “THE INVITATIONS” is for you.
Every day we wake to beautiful invitations that nudge us to draw nearer, lean closer, and glean more. We see them even in our least favourite places. Jesus sweetly pours out grace and offers us INVITATIONS.
