The popular contemporary Christian song Everlasting God contains the phrase, “strength will rise as we wait
upon the Lord.” This is a biblical
notion for sure, but how foreign it is to our modern American approach to
life. We get stronger by waiting? We
draw energy from inertia? By our seemingly obsessive activity, one would think
that our weariness is not a result of insufficient passivity, but rather too little time. Why? Because we really could do less…we just choose not to.
If you polled most people on why they seem stressed or exhausted, one of
the main complaints would be something like this: There are just not enough hours in the day
for me to accomplish everything I need to
do. But is that, in fact, the
issue? Do we just need more time?
A few years ago, a Hollywood movie addressed the issue of time as the
new currency in a thriller entitled In
Time, starring Justin Timberlake.
What intrigued me was the premise: a future society where the ultimate commodity
is not money, not land, but time.
Imagine, in the not-too-distant future, that scientists have discovered
a way to turn off the aging gene. As the threat of overpopulation looms over
society, money becomes a thing of the past. Now, assets are measured in time;
those with the most time also possess the most power. Meanwhile, the lower
classes are forced to barter with the new elite if they want to live forever.
The concept is compelling.
And it rings true. What we all
wish we had more of—is time. Time to get
stuff done. Time to go here and
there. Time to get and stay busy. And certainly, more time to relax. What
appears to be elusive for many of us is not acquiring more time, even for
relaxation, but really learning how to
rest. Not just a yoga, hmmmm-type relaxation, but what God’s Word refers to
as stillness, the ceasing of
striving. Rest. And there is much in the Word to establish
the importance of resting, of finding rest…of actually pursuing rest. In his best seller Too Busy Not to Pray, well-known pastor, teacher, and author Bill
Hybels suggests that our real need is not more time for more activity, but more
time communing with the One who made us…and then Himself rested.
Genesis 2:2
begins “By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing; so on
the seventh day he rested from all his work.”
Psalm 46:10
reminds us to “Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 62 says “My
soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock
and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Find rest, O my
soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be
shaken."
Luke 10:38-42
illustrates the restful posture of Mary, as compared to the busy, but
un-peaceful, attitude of sister Martha.
Hebrews 4: 9-11
cautions: “There remains, then a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. For anyone
who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from
His. Let us, therefore, make every
effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their examples
of disobedience.”
These are but a few of the references that are the basis for
a contemporary poem, ‘Til They Rest in
You, written by songwriter Tony Wood.
Comes an honest moment when each heart looks inside
Finding nothing here on earth truly satisfies
Some choose to ignore the ache, some confess
it’s true
God, our hearts will have no peace ‘til they rest in You
Every pleasure, every thrill never is enough
Every trophy, even gold, simply turns to dust
Most still search to find real joy yet they never do
God, our hearts will have no
peace ‘til they rest in You
We yearn, we thirst, we stumble in the dark
Discontent,
for You’ve set eternity within each heart.
Thank You for my desperate days, feeling incomplete
Thank
You for Your loving ways, leading me to see
Jesus, You are all I need, nothing else will do
God, our hearts will have no peace ‘til they rest in You
Resting in God is less about relaxing and more about relinquishing. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that
“anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His.” As we jump into yet another school year and, as
God’s people, embark on another cycle in the church calendar, take some time to
reflect on how often you think or are caught commenting on your current or
anticipated weariness. Why not take an
inventory of your “rest to work ratio” and see if it even comes close to the 1
in 7 standard set by the Creator of the universe. He worked six days and rested the seventh,
even thereby institutionalizing a
Sabbath rest for His people.
Tired of striving?
Tired of working for fulfillment, acceptance, significance? How about waving the white flag of
surrender? Take time. Make time. Put intentional space into your
day or week to meet with God and consciously give Him your stress and
weariness. And then take Jesus at his word in this busy season: "Come to me, all you who are weary and
burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28)
tad
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