The Lesson of the Rest

Rest – skip a beat, wait a minute, sit down, take a breath, take a break, ease up, let go.

Have you ever – (I know you have) been climbing a hill, walking a path, cleaning, cooking, building, raking leaves – and at one point you just need a rest?

How do you know when that time comes?  Some of us do know and are willing to put down our tools or our walking sticks and stop what we’re doing, but some of us don’t.  And for those people, it takes something out of their control to force it on them.  Maybe, age?

Some of us know - on a physical level when it’s time to sit down, but do we know the need to rest on an emotional level?  Do we know when it’s time to take a breath?

The other morning, I woke early – been doing a lot of that lately, and my mind was in a turmoil, wondering, yes worrying, about the dental appointment I had scheduled for that day.  I badly needed a tooth that had broken off, pulled and was struggling with that problem.  I was worried that not pulling it would cause other problems – there was a lot of decay in the roots. 

And then I worried that pulling it would not be good because of other things going on with my health right now.  Well you get the picture – this surgery was optional, but on some levels it wasn’t.

Boy I was really worrying myself into an emotional turmoil.  Bet you’ve probably done that too.

That’s when I got up, took my blanket into the living room and sat down to read and give my worries a rest!  I wanted to focus on something else.

I picked up the book – my current favorite, “God Still Moves Stones”, by Max Lucado, and began at a new chapter.  Mr. Lucado uses scripture abundantly and God always speaks to my heart with this man’s words.

Funny thing --- although the chapter had nothing whatever to do with pulling teeth, or even worry, I felt relieved.

It was a rest – a break, a laying down of the burden, and I believe God was pleased.

Sometimes we think that a formal prayer, asking God to take away the worry or pain, or problem is the only way for God to work.  But, as I read, I felt less bothered. 

I wonder if one really good way to release those troublesome thoughts is only to focus on God, focus on his nature, be with Him and, yes, rest in HIM.

I chose not to follow my thoughts about the situation -- and that’s not bad.  The current trend is to say we need to voice or vent our thoughts and worries.  They say it’s unhealthy to hold it in.  But giving your thoughts over to God’s word is not holding it in, it’s more like handing it over, laying it down.  (although, if you’re like me, you’ll most likely pick it up again at some time.)  But for now it was time to rest.

There’s a musical application to this that I thought of that morning.  What if our songs and melodies never had a rest? 

We’d have long notes and short notes, but never time to take a breath, never a chance for the music to seep in, never a chance to really feel it.  The sound coming from the instrument or voice might even be beautiful, but I don’t think it would impact your heart.

Sometimes we need a rest, and that rest can always be found in the presence of the One who rested on the 7th day, the one who hears our struggles and always hears our hearts. We can always find rest in His loving arms. So when we look at Him and listen to what He has to say about anything, we can find rest in Him.

Matthew 11:29 (NIV)- 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.

"Take my yoke," Jesus said, He meant - take my teaching, be like me, and then learn from Me. That’s where we'll find our rest.