Rest
July has begun, and summer is officially here! I wonder, how you are going to spend your summer holidays? Maybe seeing friends, reading books, going on adventures, as well as catching up on sleep and TV! Whatever it is that you do this summer I hope you will find time to REST.
“God’s promise of enjoying his rest still stands. So be careful that none of you fails to receive it.” Hebrews 4:1
Rest is good for our bodies, our souls, our spirits, and our families. Rest replenishes us and enables us to get up and go again.
But rest is also more than that.
Rest is a holy place.
Rest is a place where we meet with God.
Rest is a chance to delight in God, and delight with God.
Hebrews 4:10-11 “God rested from his work. Those who enjoy God’s rest also rest from their works. Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.”
The story of creation teaches us that God chose to rest on the seventh day- after six days of working hard. It also teaches us that the very first day for humankind was spent resting with God: God worked first then rested, humans rested first then went to work. Rest was the foundation for humanity, not a reward. (Genesis 2:1-3)
Thinking that we need to work hard in order to get the ‘reward’ of rest can put us in the dangerous place of making us feel like we are only worthy once we have achieved something: but the reality is that God says the opposite. God says we are worthy. There are no conditions to that. So we can live from a place of rest, a place of knowing that we are loved, valued, and accepted by God, that his acceptance, approval, and affirmation cannot be earned- they just are.
What do we actually DO to rest?
The answer to this question will be different for each of us- because we are all unique and we all enjoy different things. Some of us might like to go for a long run to rest- for others that may be the very definition of hell! Some of us may enjoy reading, writing, or gaming, others create artwork, music, or dance moves… whatever it is that brings you life is what you should do to rest.
How do we rest WELL?
We can rest well by having fun with it, enjoying it. You know you are resting well when you feel alive afterwards. Or when time loses it’s meaning because you have gotten lost in the activity- have you ever experienced that thing where time flashes by superfast when you’re doing something you love, but goes so slowly when you’re doing something you hate? That’s how you can know what to do to help you rest well and delight with God!!
What do we rest FROM?
A large part of rest is not actually about our physical activities- although that is important, rest is also about our state of mind. We need a chance to rest from reliance on our own works- leaning into God and believing he will provide. We need rest from our need to win acclaim or favour from others, rest from trying to get people to like us, rest from getting our self-esteem from how other people see us. We need rest from trying to be the best, from performing, from achieving. Rest gives us a chance to recalibrate where we are getting our value from and remember to whom we belong.
We can create a rhythm of rest into our weekly lives by keeping a ‘Sabbath’ - one day a week where we choose to delight in God and partake only in life giving activities, focusing on him and not on doing or striving. Holidays give us an extended period of time to really push into this idea of rest.
So however you are going to spend your summer holidays, my prayer is that you will find time to REST well with God, to know that he delights in you- and that you can enjoy and delight in his company too, whatever activity you happen to be doing!
Shalom, peace be with you.