Come, Rest, Stay Awhile

Ahhh – rest! Something we all need, and if you get little of it, you cherish it immensely.  My Mom has had many medical issues to which the doctors could not find answers. A couple of years ago we went through a period that was exhausting. With two hospital visits, seven doctors, many drugs, and much frustration, she finally got a good night’s rest! It had been weeks since she had slept more than an hour or two at a time. That alone raises the stress level. Lack of rest can cause us to become anxious, confused, stressed, and even angry. I was amazed at her reaction to one good night’s sleep. I called the morning after this rest, and her whole demeanor and tone of voice were different. She sounded as if she had been sitting on the beach for hours doing nothing but listening to the waves roll in.

Through all of this, I was reminded of the verse where Jesus was speaking in Matthew 11:28. He is issuing an invitation to come and rest.

Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Jesus was speaking to Jews and Gentiles both in this statement. The Jews were under the weight of their ceremonial laws and their traditions. Their keeping of the law and the additions to that by the  Pharisees, made serving God a chore, not a joy. Jesus is also speaking to those who are under the weight of their sin. There is relief when we come to Him and the weight of guilt is lifted. Our conscience finds relief, and our soul finds relief in knowing that we have an eternal friend in Jesus and an eternal home in Heaven. Still, there is another group to which this applies. Those who have allowed the world to push them so hard that mentally and physically they are exhausted.

Though he has great compassion for the lost, and desires them to be saved, his compassion for those who believe is not diminished, it is enhanced because we are now in a relationship with Him. Romans 8:34 says, that he is at the right hand of God making intercession for us. We can rest knowing that he is speaking on our behalf. He knows our situation and understands it better than we do. He longs for us to turn our situation over to Him and seek His wisdom and guidance.

Sometimes we spend much of our energy worrying. Worry solves nothing! It is sin because worry is a lack of faith. We are taking our situation out of God’s hands and putting it in ours. In Matthew 6:26, Jesus speaks about how the birds of the air are taken care of, then he poses the question, “are ye not much better than they?” And we would all answer, of course, we are. We are made in the image of God! Yet, we live as if everything depends on ourselves. This alone can bring stress and our minds will become so cluttered we cannot rest, or concentrate, on what we need from God each day.

I love the story of Elijah where he pronounced the judgment to King Ahab, that there would be no rain for “these years.” Elijah did not tell Ahab how long it would be, but it was 3.5 years!

I Kings 17:1 “And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”

Ahab was a wicked King and God had pronounced judgment on him for forsaking Him and worshiping false gods in Israel.

I Kings 16:33 “And Ahab made a grove, and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him.”

Here is the part I love. God told Elijah to leave and hide by the brook Cherith, and he would take care of him.

I Kings 17:3-4 “Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

I know there are many situations that we cannot avoid in life. As a wife, a mom, and a child of the King, I understand the demands of taking care of others. I want to show compassion wherever I can, but I also know that we must take care of ourselves spiritually and physically if we are to be of any value to anyone else. We must experience that comfort and rest if we are to pass it on to others.

II Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

Today, take time to come and rest. The “come all ye that labor,” is a beckoning call to each of us. I don’t believe it is a suggestion, but a command. Jesus knows our design and what we need. It’s almost as if He is giving us another reason to spend time with Him. If we would spend more time with him, maybe the storms wouldn’t seem so bad when they come. Resting in Him brings refreshment for the soul, comfort, provision, energy, and wisdom to face the future. So come and rest in Him today.