Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
The sabbath - a day of rest. A day of rest each week - what a blessing from the Lord, but the world (and in the world of my own brain) rest seems strange at times. Being able to rest and be still, for me, is so hard! Rest is not an easy or encouraged in our task centric society today. Now back in Old testament times and in Jewish culture there were such rigorous rules that defined what "rest" was and wasn't in order to observe God's command to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. If you walked too much, you were in trouble! If you did too much yard work, you were in trouble! I guess I would have been in trouble each week by that standard. Thankfully, Jesus cleared up and clarified the heart about Sabbath and rest when he said in Mark 2:27 - that the Sabbath was made for man (us), not man for the Sabbath. It's meant to be a intentional time of recharge, renewal, and rededication to God, not some anxiety-inducing rule.
Resting isn't easy. The world floods us with distractions, so much so that if we don't intentionally stop, rest, reset, we wouldn't stop at all until we burn out. I think rest means more than just not doing things. Jesus ushered in a new kind of rest, a deeper rest when he says to "come to me for rest" in Matthew 11:28. Though physical rest is an important part of honoring this Sabbath rest, Jesus said, if I am weary, to come to Him for rest. It's not just about stopping doing things. It's deeper. I can rest from trying to earn my approval and acceptance through performance, rest from my own self loathing by giving Him my burdens, rest from torment of situations beyond my control, because I trust the One who is in control. Honoring a Sabbath day each week to rest is not just a "do nothing day" (as if that is a thing). It has to mean more than just physical rest. Resting my soul spiritually by intentionally setting our mind on things above, caring for our physical need of rest of course, but our soul rest - devoting ourselves to a sacred time of remembering Jesus', honoring Jesus in gratefulness for who He is. Yes, that should be every day AND how special, though, to honor God's command for us to have a Sabbath rest, a sacred time and day to intentionally set aside our normal day to day workings, consecrate our hearts, mind, soul, and strength to God, resting in His goodness. It refuels us for our work ahead.
My prayer this week is that I will be most intentional with my inner life as I embrace the kind of rest Jesus wants for me. That time spent with my family, church, and those who God put in my life in such a way that my mindset is on resting in the Lord - meaning, His presence is restful to me. I feel safe, I know I am loved, accepted, and cared for. Remembering how much more will my Father care for me if not even a bird can fall without my Father knowing (Matt. 10:29-31). All this brings me peace, brings me rest. That rest is from the Lord. It is a lasting and supernatural rest that no other place, person, substance, or vacation can provide and it is available to us anytime.
Lord, help us to find our rest in you, alone. Help us to draw close to you each day and thank you for the Sabbath day you give us. Let us honor you in it by setting aside the day to day busyness to seek you as our most precious jewel. Thank you for promising that when we seek You, we will find You. We rest in Your promise to us. Amen.