Have You Truly Rested?

Rest.

A word that is used so often within the Christian community yet is rarely witnessed in action.

So, what is rest? According to google, the definition of rest is “cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength.” The Hebrew word for rest is nuach; a word found numerous times within scripture. The meaning of this word is “to rest or settle down, to be soothed or quieted.” It is beautiful to examine how similar these definitions are yet how different the action of resting (in worldly standards vs biblical commands) truly is. 

I am learning that resting in the Lord does not always look how the world defines rest. We can be in a constant state of rest and communion with the Lord even when we are serving and loving. But he also asks us to stop striving and to sit in his presence. Biblical rest is not only resting with the Lord, but also resting in him; and I’m learning that both of these are vital in our walk with Christ.

So what does it look like to simultaneously rest in and with the Father?

Throughout the past month, God has been slowly yet surely reshaping my view of rest. He has continually asked me to stop striving, searching, and working and to simply rest in his presence.

The other night, as my team and I were having a time of worship during our team time, my mind could not stop running. I sat there unable to clear my mind as I sat in the presence of the Lord. My mind was filled with anxious expectation of something from God; asking for visions, signs, words, just something. For a while, I sat in a place of confusion and anxiety at the fact that I wasn’t getting anything. Why would the Father withhold his wisdom from me?

However, it was in this specific moment, that as I was running and trying so hard, I forgot one of the simplest  commands found in Matthew 11. To rest in Jesus.

Jesus speaks to his followers, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (MSG) 

The other night, even in the midst of my striving and confusion, that’s the exact thing Abba asked me to do. To stop trying, searching, and striving and just rest in him. To lean back into his loving arms and find solidarity in his warm embrace. The Father is showing me that when I rest in him, I am also resting with him. And when I start resting in this way, everything else finds a place. 

“If there be anything that can render the soul calm, dissipate its scruples and dispel its fears, sweeten its sufferings by the anointing of love, impart strength to all its actions, and spread abroad the joy of the Holy Spirit in its countenance and words, it is this simple and childlike repose in the arms of God.” S.D. Gordon

What if full pursuit of the Father did not look like running but instead looked more like resting in his arms? What if finding full peace did not look like knowing it all but instead knowing who holds it all? What if all of God’s children stopped striving and started laying at his feet?

I ask you to dwell on these questions and sit with the Father. I challenge you to find a space to rest this week and if you never have, to rest not only with him, but in him.

Let’s become a people of rest. Let’s become a people who know that all we need is found in him. A people who believe we can stop striving and just sit in his presence.