The Source of True Rest

 

AUGUST 9, 2023

Genesis 2:2-3

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

 

The Source of True Rest

 

I think most of you will agree that sometimes finding rest can feel rather impossible. Have you ever had a time in your life where you are physically, mentally and spiritually exhausted and rest doesn’t seem to be accessible to you? It is a hard, hard space, isn’t it? So where do we find true rest? Where do we find rest that is fulfilling and satisfying?

When we are in these situations we can turn to our amazing creator. After all our God is the creator of rest. We notice this in our Bible verse today. God rested from the work of creating the world. Now, God’s rest is not the kind of rest that we as humans must have in order to survive and remain healthy but rather, as I see it God’s rest, his taking a break, was to pause and take in, what he has created.

So, God is the source of our rest. The one we can turn to and call out to from our restlessness, the one who gives us the strength and occasion to rest. As David put it, “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken,” (Psalm 62:1-2).

On our own, at least if you are like me, we search aimlessly for rest and are unable to be satisfied. The teaching of the Bible is that with God, our souls can find rest. In the Gospel Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you, (what?) rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light,” (Matthew 11:28-30). What a joy it is to take God at his word and to enter the rest that God has prepared for all.