BLESSED BY REST - PART 3

KEY SCRIPTURES

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” ~ Matthew 11:28-29 (NLT)

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…  ~ Exodus 20:8-11

The first part of this “Blessed by Rest” series spoke of sleep - being blessed by getting the rest and RESToration our brains and bodies need to be able to accomplish all the tasks the Lord sets before us.

In Part 2 we talked about resting from our work - being blessed by taking breaks and allowing ourselves to be RESTored, by observing “sabbaths” - several throughout our days, and especially one day a week where we STOP and rest.

In Part 3 we are going to take a *slightly* deeper look at what “rest” means to God... basically, what does HE mean when He invites us to rest?

I think we get a couple of clues from our key scriptures above. First, when He gave us the commandment He said, “Remember the Sabbath...”

Whenever I see the word “remember” I break it down and see it as two words... re-member... like we are rejoining a member back into a group, or reattaching a “member” of our body (like a limb or finger or something,) back on. (Gruesome, maybe - but you’d want it to happen, right?!) This is exactly what I think this first part is saying... take some time to re-connect with Him.

Then He goes on to say, “... to keep it holy,” which means special, sacred, set apart.  He’s asking us to set aside one day to spend quality time with Him.

Why?  So we can have one more ritualistic, religious thing to do?

No.

Because He loves us.

It is ALL about relationship.

Just like in any relationship, when you spend quality time with someone, you learn more about them... and the more time you spend with them, the MORE you learn about them. With some relationships, you may even get to the point where you know them so well you can finish their sentences, know EXACTLY the perfect gift for them, because you know what they like, and what they DON’T like... you can order their meals for them at a restaurant, or buy them clothing that fits them well.

When you spend time with someone, you also learn to know their voice. I can walk into a noisy, crowded room and hear my husband or my daughter speaking... because I know their voice.

When we re-connect with Jesus, and the more we stay connected with Him, we learn to recognize His voice as well. We become “tuned in” to His “still small voice” and can hear it, even above the loud and obnoxious voice of the world. Recognizing His voice is the first step in resting in Him.

It’s a relationship.

The next step is to take up His yoke and doing things His way. FOLLOWING His voice. We may HEAR His voice all the time, but not necessarily follow it.

When we follow His voice we learn to trust Him… but this is difficult, because oftentimes we believe (usually subconsciously,) that “trusting” Jesus, or “having faith” means trusting that everything will turn out the way we want or think it should. We pray for something and “have faith” that it will all turn out okay… but this is not what we need to trust in.

We need to trust in God.

But what exactly does THAT mean?

It means that we trust in God’s character. We trust in Who He Is. (1 John 4:8) Not that He will do things OUR way, but that He will do things HIS way… which is ALWAYS better than our way! (Even though it may not seem like it at the time - just ask Job!!!) (Isaiah 55:8-9)

When we trust in Him, and are obedient to His voice, we can receive the blessed REST Jesus promised us, (Matthew 11:28) knowing that He will guide us in the best way for us to go. We can relax when we allow Him to take the wheel and be at the helm of our lives. With God leading and us following, we can REST in knowing that He will always lead us in what is best for us. (It may not be easy, but it WILL be for our best!)

We rest in His best.

Obedience brings peace…

The more we are obedient to His leading, the more we will experience His blessings, (though not always immediately! Again, ask Job!) and the more we experience His goodness, the more we have peace in trusting Him. It’s a cycle of trusting Him and Him showing we CAN trust Him, and while it may seem like we have to take the first step in trusting Him, that’s actually not the case…

Whenever David struggled with fear or doubt and would bring his heart to the Lord, he would always REMEMBER all the good the Lord had ALREADY DONE not only in his personal life, but also the life of his people and the entire world. (John 3:16 - 17)

That’s what the Bible is… a beautiful history of how much God loves us and provides for us and takes care of us and wants a relationship with us. That’s what it’s all about! This is why it’s so important for us to continually read scripture, to be reminded of God’s love for this world. (Journaling is also a good way for us to fix our focus and remember God’s blessings in our personal life.)

It’s all about relationship. When we’re in relationship with Him, (through reading His Word and through prayer and being familiar with His voice,) the more trust we will have in Him.

The more trust we have in God and His love for us, the more we can be blessed by the peace of truly resting. In Him.

Always.

Amen.

SCRIPTURES

Matthew 11:28-29  ~Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (NLT)

Exodus 20:8-11 ~ “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (NASB)

1 Kings 19:11-12 ~ Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. (NKJV)

1 John 4:8 ~ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (ESV)

Isaiah 55:8-9 ~ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Matthew 11:28 ~ Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (NLT)

John 3:16 - 17 ~ For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten ([a]unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. (AMPC)