REST - A Real Four-letter Word

REST - what comes to mind when you see that word?  Lying in a hammock on a tropical island in the late afternoon with the Sun going down?  A good night's sleep shocks you when you awake in the morning that you actually had a good night's sleep?  Or, are you kidding?  What's that?

We live with such stress and tension that "rest" has almost escaped our vocabulary. It is a treasure hidden, a goal not attainable, a win just beyond our ability.  It is certainly not a normal part of our life.  But it should be.

It should be. Genesis 1:5 "So the evening and the morning were the first day."  In God's account of creation, each day God introduces something new into our world and ends the narrative by announcing "so the evening and the morning were the (blank) day."  How do you view a day?  There is not one percent of the readers of these words view a day like Genesis 1, but all Jews, even to this day, still observe the beginning of a new day at dusk.  Instead, we say, a day begins in the morning and ends in the evening.

Perspective is our problem which results in an ongoing conclusion normally beyond our reach.  As long as we see the morning beginning our day, we will never see rest as the beginning of our life.  God says you begin your day with rest (the evening).  You do not go into your day with work, instead with rest.  

We rest so we can recalibrate our life, thoughts, values, strength, and priorities.  Things happen in a state of rest that cannot happen anywhere else,   We need rest.  We must have rest.  We must value rest.  We must receive rest.

Psalm 127:2 "Don't you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?" (The Message) 

Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (CSB)

Do you believe that?  God loves to give us rest?  Why? Everything begins with the evening - the time of rest.  God created the entire world in six days (yes, I believe it) but He did it from a posture of rest. 

We function best after rest.  So, what would happen if 1) we actually believed God wanted to give us rest; 2) we started seeing our day beginning with rest and not work? Try it...well, what about tonight.  As you approach sleep, thank God for the gift of rest and receive the gift from our loving Father's good hands.  Go ahead and do it.  And have a good night of rest. It can be a reality.