Bacon, Eggs and God

Repose

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 

In many homes on Sunday morning there is rush to find children’s shoes and Bibles.  Then there is a scurrying about to gulp down some type of sustenance, brushing teeth and piling into the family car.  For Christians, Sunday is supposed to be our Sabbath, but you wouldn’t know it by the way we cram church, ballgames, BBQ’s, picnics, shopping sprees, smorgasbord meals, etc., into one day; a day that is supposed to be a day of rest.

Maybe we are missing out on the type of rest that God truly wants for us.

God’s rest doesn’t require our bodies to be still, but folks think rest occurs when they plop down in front of the TV or sit in lawn chairs under a tree or stretch out in a hammock.  Their bodies might me at rest, but their minds continue to process millions of bits of information by thinking, worrying and planning.

Other people think that rest happens when they have less to do.  They look forward to the end of the typical work week and welcome Saturday morning; thinking they will have less to do.  But the morning soon is swallowed up with a plethora of chores and Facebook posts.  By the time evening rolls around they wonder where the day went.

And there are those that think rest happens when they escape the reality of our activities of daily living.  They flock to beaches, mountains and lakes seeking a space where they can become unavailable to the world that is pulling them in so many directions.  No matter how isolated they think themselves to be, they still are carrying the intrusive baggage of text messages, emails and cell phone calls; hence, never really becoming unavailable to the world that keeps their minds running in multiple directions.

Rest is not a moment to be created; it is an inner condition to be cultivated.

The rest God is talking about is not rest from your activities of daily living.  It is that profound peace that God gives to those who love and obey him regardless of circumstances.  It is a profound peace that does not affect whether you are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, American or Asian, European or Australian, African or Pacific Islander.  It is a rest that heals and makes you whole.  It is a rest that calms your fears and gives you a sense of stability to face the future with confidence, regardless of what is happening around you.

It is a kind of rest that allows you to be in a state of repose at all times; both during times of joy and trials, because you completely trust the Lord to do his good will in our lives.  It is a rest that enables the believer to not become hysterical by any circumstances.  It is the rest every believer is encouraged to seek.  It is the rest that enables you to enjoy the labors of your life.  It is the rest that allows you to love and obey God as you strive in this life.

So in this life, seek the rest that God has promised through faith.

God promised this rest to the believer and it is one of the greatest of the gifts from the riches of his grace.

My thoughts about you outnumber grains of sand
I hold you safely in the hollow of my hand
I have even numbered all the hairs upon your head
And sent my son to love you with
The precious blood he shed

Rest in me, rest in me
I am your father
You’re my precious child
Be still before me
Wait on me a while
And rest in me

• Todd Vaters