I never realized how important rest was to God until recently.
I’ve been studying David’s life and discovered a verse that gave the reasoning behind David not being chosen to build the temple of God that I had never noticed before. In this portion of the scripture below, God outlines His reason for choosing David’s son, not him.
“Behold, a son will be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all His enemies on every side; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for My name….”
1 Chronicles 2:9-10a (emphasis added)
God prioritizes rest.
He refused to let David build His temple because he shed so much blood before Him, and He wanted a man of rest to build His house. As I pondered how much God values rest, as shown in His decision, I felt like God began to speak to me about what happens when we rest.
Rest is where we become dependent on God and have peace because we surrender our worries to Him. As we trust Him more fully, anxiety leaves, and fear subsides. As we allow His love to fill us and meditate on God’s attributes, the worries of life become very small.
We see more about rest in the creation account in Genesis 2:1-3:
“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them were finished. And on the seventh day, God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because, in it, He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” (emphasis added)
Again God reminds us how vital rest is through Moses in Exodus 20:8-11 where He commands us to remember the sabbath day and keep it holy by doing our work in six days and to dedicate the sabbath to the Lord.
Later in Hebrews 4, God tells us there is a promise of rest for all believers but only those who obey Him and keep their hearts open and vulnerable before Him will enter.
A friend recently introduced me to an excellent book called The Power of God’s Names by Tony Evans, where he deep dives into each of God’s names that He reveals Himself by in the scriptures. I want to share an excerpt from this book to show how vital rest is to our God.
“God is telling us through this passage in Hebrews 4 that He has established a rest for us. First, He created a rest for the people of Israel. It was called the Promised Land. In the Promised Land, others had already dug wells, built buildings, and cultivated the land. While the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt, God was preparing a place for them. They simply had to walk into it and enjoy it.
And now God has a rest prepared for you. If you belong to Jesus Christ, you are part of the people of God. As a member of God’s family, you can enter into the Sabbath rest He has for you. It’s called a Sabbath rest because it’s already completed. Rather than trying to make God do something for you, you can rest in what God has already done. He had already prepared works for you to do that you might walk in them. You don’t have to scheme, manipulate, or wear yourself out trying to live your life in God’s will.
Your job as a follower of Jesus Christ isn’t to try to outwit, outplay, or outsmart God - to try to figure out your own personal destiny yourself. God has already drawn the map of your life, and it’s a good life filled with both a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). It’s a plan that’s self-perpetuating. You just need to obey Him fully so you can enter the rest he has planned for you.
You don’t need to create it. Elohim, the Creator God, has already created it. You don’t need to force it, Elohim, the strong one has already set it up. You don’t need to go find it. Elohim, the personal and ever-present God, will reveal it to you as you seek Him each day.” (pages 38-39)
In today’s busy world, it is hard to slow down to check our hearts and ensure we trust and rest in God. I encourage you to take time daily before the rush and sit with Him. Allow Him to speak to You through His word, silence, song, writing, or some other way.
God recently has encouraged me to wake up at 5:30 each morning to be with Him without worrying about getting ready for work as I was before in my limited time with Him. I haven’t been entirely successful this past week, but I did seek Him for three days and plan to start again next week.
If any of you know me, I am NOT an early morning person, so this is a struggle, but I believe my obedience, despite the cost, is worth the blessing of being with Jesus.
What is God asking you to shift in your life right now to make more space for Him?
Where does your heart need to soften and become more open so that He can fully lead you into all He has for you?
Let’s start wherever we are afresh in Him, friends, and pursue Him today.
