A Time to Rest
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
When God wants to get something across to me, He doesn’t let up. Such has been the case with His spending several years speaking to my heart over and again one single word. REST. Countless times I have sought His face for His will, and countless times He has answered me with the very same word. REST. Little did I know, despite how much I have undoubtedly needed far more physical rest than I have gotten for some years now, that God had something in mind far more than I realized. One day, while in the thick of my seemingly endless responsibilities, God and I had a brief “talk” that put it all into perspective. For some days, I had shed tears, screamed, yelled, whined, and cried out to the Lord in desperation for HELP with my ministry work as my resources had simply not been keeping up with the ministry’s growth. Right in the midst of a tiny break from the immense pressure and stress I had been feeling, I heard the Lord speak the word into my heart like a gentle whisper. REST.
“How am I supposed to get everything done if I rest?” I retorted, none too meekly mind you. Was He serious? Didn’t He know as a single woman running a non-profit ministry on a barebones budget with no staff and virtually no physical help with a house falling apart at the seams and 16 mostly special needs and senior rescued dogs almost always in need of something that I couldn’t just drop everything and rest? Of course He knew. His essential reply slipped quietly into my heart like a sweet lullaby. I didn’t ask you to stop doing everything. I asked you to rest.
What was God telling me to do? This time, unlike in the past, I knew. This was why God had not let up through the years in telling me to rest. He had wanted me to understand – and obey. This time, I did both. Within minutes, I found myself relaxing, smiling, and even singing and praising Him. For this time I knew what He meant by rest. For the rest to which He has been calling me, and the rest to which He calls us all, is a belief in Christ as Lord, a trust in the Lord’s love and leadership, His Word and His provision, His care and comfort, His will and His timing, a rest in His omnipotence, a trust in His sovereignty, a child-like faith in Him for His spiritual blessings like forgiveness, peace, and mercy, a yielding to His plans and His ways. Sigh. Relief. Deep breath. Rest. Physical rest must not be discounted, but the most important rest is in Him. Resting in Him?