I WONDER WHY THE EASIEST THING IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS THE MOST DIFFICULT.
“My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest” (Exodus 33:14)
The rest that God offers us through Christ is that of meekness, the blessed relief which comes when we accept ourselves for what we are and cease to pretend. Christ promises rest for the soul when we come unto Him and leave our burden at His feet. God always knows what He is doing with us—we can rest and relax in that fact. Isn’t this very comforting to realize?
“To step out of self-life into Christ-life; to lie still, and let him lift you out of it; to fold your hands close, and hide your face on the hem of his garment; to let him put his cooling, soothing, healing hands upon your soul, and draw all the hurry and fever from its veins; to realize that you are not a mighty messenger, an important worker of His, full of care and responsibility, but only a little child, with a Father’s gentle bidding to heed and fulfill; to lay your busy plans and ambitions confidently in his hands, as a child brings its broken toys at its mother’s call; to serve him by waiting; to praise him by saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy,” to cease to hurry, so you may not lose sight of his face; to learn to follow him, and not to run ahead of orders! To cease to live in self and for self, and to live in him and for him; to love his honor more than your own; is a clear medium for his life-tide to shine and glow through. This is consecration, this is rest.” (C.E. Cowman)
Rest is a precious promise from God. We need to learn to claim it as our own. Regardless of our situation or where we find ourselves at any given moment; the Lord will always keep us company. His presence, which includes His favor, His fellowship, His care, and His power, shall be ever with us in every one of our activities. With God present and with us, we have possession of heaven and earth. Go with me, Lord, and then command me where you will!
We hope to find a place of rest. The text promises we will. We are to have rest of God’s own giving, making, and preserving. His presence will cause us to rest even when we are on the march—even in the midst of battle. Rest! Rest comes from the Comforter, from the Prince of Peace, and from the glorious Father who rested on the seventh day from all His works. To be with God is to rest in the most emphatic sense.
In our spiritual life many of us seem to be content struggling along with all the poor primitive resources of a weak, human nature, while all the infinite power of the God-head is at our disposal. There is no condition of human nature, no circumstance of human life, that is not completely provided for in the all-embracing love of our Father God; yet the majority of His children struggle along life’s road, bearing burdens that He is eager to carry, and has urged them to entrust to Him. I wonder why?
God wants us all to move on with Him. He wants us to walk with Him. He wants it not only for our welfare but for the benefit of others as well as His own dear reputation. He desires that we rest in the hollow of His hand. It seems like quite an easy thing to do when we rest, however it often becomes one of the most difficult processes to accomplish. We have the infinite power of the God-head at our disposal but we often choose to struggle along our way in our own strength.
It should be an easy thing and a thrilling thing to talk to God, and to hold conversation with Christ. Yet, strange to relate to, prayer is the most neglected of all the Christian ministries. The most perfunctory, abbreviated and often times omitted exercise of many a Christian’s life is prayer-time. Yet, when we discipline ourselves to meet daily with our heavenly Father, He gives us rest. It is hard for us to relax; to spare an hour or even half that time out of our busy, rushing, worried lives, and go quietly to our room, shut the door and be still in His presence! And yet, we often wonder why we cannot rest in the Lord. Matthew 11:28 reminds us to, “Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Oh how peaceful that sounds—why don’t we take advantage of it? If the Lord puts you in the dark, it is but to strengthen your eyes to bear the glory that He is preparing for you. “Come apart with me and rest awhile” (Mark 6:31).
If the Lord careth for thee, be thyself at rest .” -Archbishop Leighton
I believe prayer and the lack of it in our lives is one reason we do not rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. It is really an easy thing to kneel and pray—maybe too easy. We are almost more content by not relaxing, by rushing about and being worried. How hard to divest ourselves of our sophistication, of our self-consciousness and self-centeredness, an ever-present feeling that we have to face and meet and shoulder all these cares and responsibilities! Why can’t we be like a child and quietly rest at His feet?
The need for solitude and quietness was never greater than it is today. Without learning to be quiet, we will never learn to rest. Finding the correct way to rest is an essential part of our lives. We become a deep joy to God when we rest in oneness with Him. Wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest, the rest of the perfection of activity that is never conscious of itself. We must get to the point of surrendering our wills to Jesus for rest—then rest will come automatically. The great solution and simple one is, “Come unto Me…” We are to strive to be complete in Jesus Christ—He promises to give us rest. How badly do you want that?
Rest is one of the distinguishing traits of the godly person, because they have learned to focus their heart on God. Deep down inside yourself, are you at rest? As you sit quietly and rest, what is it that robs you of truly being tranquil inside your heart? It is usually matters troubling our minds that we have not turned over to the Lord. We have not learned to be “still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Do you understand that once you cease striving, God can give your heart rest? Psalm 62:5 also reminds us to, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” We all need to balance times of rest in our lives in order to be refreshed. Our burdens can be laid down if we choose to allow that to happen. We are to make every effort to enter into God’s rest (Hebrews 4:11).
It takes a personal effort and vigilance to diligently develop rest. We are to rest from trying to make ourselves acceptable to God. We are also to rest from any energy of the flesh and lean on the Holy Spirit’s strength. We are not perfect in ourselves—God is responsible for us. He tells us to cease striving and enter His rest—as we commit to Him more and more our innermost being will learn to rest. We must let our self-righteousness go and ask God to saturate us with His inexhaustible strength. The Holy Spirit wants to let it flow through you.
Are you listening to God? Can you hear His still small voice? God sees our pain—He knows our struggle and discouragement—He says, “Come unto Me…I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Learn that secret, and then you will know how to let the Lord hold you in the hollow of His hand.
Jesus, I am resting, resting—in the joy of what Thou art…
