27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11.27-30
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Jesus Christ, the Author of all creation, the One Who spoke creation into existence, invites us to rest.
He offers us rest. We must rest.
He describes Himself as meek and lowly in heart, encouraging us to learn from Him, as our great Example.
Jesus uses the example of a yoke and a burden, and He says that His are easy and light. A yoke is a collar that is put around an animal's neck, to control it and drive it forward into the fields, to work for a farmer. A burden is a weight that we bear.
God calls us to come to Him and trust Him, and to rest in Him.
There are some different kinds of rest. God has established them.
Some people read these words and have a spiritual oppression which causes them to sneer and turn their nose up at the notion of resting. There are people who would claim that rest is actually anti-righteous, that somehow by resting, we are wasting our time when we could be busy with other things.
These people are not in an argument against me, but their argument is with the Word of God.
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There were two men who were hired to work on a building, building up from the foundation to the roof, and finishing everything inside. These two men were both hired to do the same job, under the same boss, and paid the same wage to do their job, but one man was able to do a better job than the other, because he had rest in his mind and spirit, in his body, and in his soul.
See, when one of these men began working each day, he knew that when he finished his job for the day that he had a nice house to return to, with a wife who would have been awaiting his return, having prepared a hot bath for him, and a meal with his favorite beverage would be ready and waiting for this first man, when he returned home from work, and he knew that each evening after work would be filled with comfort and rest. His bed would be warm with his wife next to him, and he would awake refreshed in the morning.
This man was at rest in his heart while he was working, and he was able to perform a lot of great work without stressing much.
The other man did not have this same rest. In contrast, this man did not have a house to return to, no wife or hot bath or warm bed, and no food in a refrigerator to prepare. This man did not know where his next meal would be coming from, nor did he know whether he would be sleeping in the same place each night where he slept the night before.
This man was not at rest in his heart while he was working, because he was busy thinking of many unresolved situations in his life, and in his immediate and far future.
When these two men were together working on the building they were hired to work on, swinging the same hammers and busting their knuckles on the same shingles, one man had a steady confidence and certain clarity that the other man lacked. What would be easy and obvious to the one man was also difficult and risky to the other, because of their approach, and their approach was governed by their internal perspective, and their internal perspective was born out of two very different spirits.
One had rest, the other did not. The one with rest was able to proceed in peace. The one without rest was disheveled and it took an immense amount of effort to work at the same level as the other man, and to produce the same level of work.
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I teach sailing in the summers, and I work with a lot of first-time sailors. In every lesson, each day we are together, my students hear me say and repeat something along the lines of, "We are working to rest."
Through many days of practice, a sailor will learn how to harness the power of the wind using only a rope and a rudder in a small sailboat, which controls the sail and the whole boat as it courses in any direction they choose. When a person knows that they know how to accomplish a thing, and when they know that they have what it takes to do so, that kind of certainty is a blessed assurance to them and anyone around them who may be paying attention to their progress.
It takes a lot of work to learn how to sail a boat by yourself. It is a very big investment to spend a week or two learning this skill, but the reward is a lifelong reward of enjoyment and safety out on the water in sailboats of any size, by learning some principles and practicing some skills and gaining some knowledge and experience that is learned through our classes.
At this point in my teaching, I have developed curriculum to such a point that on the very first day of class, every student will have learned enough to sail a boat, and will have sailed out a little bit into the water, and sailed back to our landing, all by their own effort and discipline.
This can be terrifying for some people, to hear in the first hour of class that "Today you will sail your own boat and you'll return safely."
I understand what it is for a student to be afraid. I was once a student learning from teachers, and I have been a teacher now for years, teaching not only sailing, but many things.
The value of intentional rest cannot be overstated.
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In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:
5 For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.
6 The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
Isaiah 26.1-6
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God tells us in many places in His Word about the value of rest. Specifically, God is informing us of the rest that comes from trusting in Him. There is no sweeter rest, and there is no more authentic and refreshing and satisfying and comforting and peaceful rest than that rest which comes from trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
The world tries to counterfeit the blessings of God, but it cannot counterfeit rest. Satan has tactics that are blasphemous corruptions of many good things that God offers, but someone who is at rest in Jesus Christ is at rest in a way which cannot be counterfeit.. Satan cannot counterfeit the rest of God.
Are you at rest in Jesus Christ? Does the name of Jesus Christ cause you to be dishonest somewhere in your heart? Does the name of Jesus Christ reveal dishonesty in you? Does the name of Jesus Christ cause you to sneer or think of people who are "bad" Christians, in an effort to justify your own ignorance of His good rest?
Today you may find rest, if you would turn your heart and mind towards Him. Turn your eyes to Heaven and ask God to help you. He is faithful, and He will help you find the rest which He delivered to you.
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Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Psalm 37.1-11
