Finding Rest in God

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”        Jesus in Matthew 11:28  NIV

    Good rest refreshes us and reenergizes us.  In his book, Every Good Endeavor, Timothy Keller states,

       "Resting, or practicing Sabbath, is also a way to help us get perspective on our work and put it in its proper place. Often we can't see our work properly until we get some distance from it  and reimmerse ourselves in other activities.  Then we see that there is more to life than work.  With that perspective and rested bodies and minds, we return to do more and better work."

  Often We often make attempts at resting that are not at all refreshing or reenergizing.  The key to understanding this is the first three of Jesus’ words above, “Come to me”.   We discover the best rest when we come to Jesus.  Instead of plugging into TV or other electronic entertainment to escape from stress or feverishly pursuing a hobby that takes more energy from us, we can go to Jesus.

  Sometimes this may take the form of sitting or going for a walk by ourselves while we quietly acknowledge Jesus’ presence and  his sufficiency to refresh us.  Sometimes it may be a time of quietly meditating on Scripture or listening to Christian music.  Sometimes it may take the form of being with a group of friends with whom we can unload our burdens during a meal or through a time of encouragement and prayer with them.

    Whatever the case, if we want to find satisfying rest, we need to believe that Jesus is the best place to find it.  Hebrews 4:19 teaches us that it was a lack of trust that kept the people of Israel from finding the rest that God wanted to give them.  This week, set aside some time to come to Jesus for some refreshing and  reenergizing rest  by pursuing one of the pathways with him that is mentioned above.  If you need some Scripture for meditation, consider Psalm  23, Psalm 46 or  Psalm 36:5-9.