Finding Rest

"Is your tendency to turn to God or to something else for rest? Why do you think that might be?"

Hmmmm....

Another challenging questions from the MomStrong Bible study that I'm not sure how to answer.

Rest...what an elusive concept.  What does it even mean?  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers some alternatives:

1. bodily state characterized by minimal functional and metabolic activities
2. freedom from activity or labor
3. a state of motionlessness or inactivity
4. the repose of death
5. peace of mind or spirit

If we look at the above ideas that try to illustrate the concept of "to rest" we can see that they have one thing in common:  inactivity.  I mean, look at number 4, right?  Can't get more inactive than that! Even #5 calls to a state of not being active:  not being actively worrying about stuff you can't control!  The way I see it, when there's peace, there is rest...like a calmed lake...a very soft breeze...silence...peace...rest...

I need rest.  I crave it!  I try to seek it; but, do I turn to God to try to find it? I don't think I can say "yes" to that.

For some reason, when I think of rest, I think of being at the beach.  For the last few years our family has been blessed with the ability to go to the beach for a week in the summer.  And it is total bliss for me.  I mean, not the drive down and back, but once I get there and as soon as I breathe in the air and hear the sound of the waves...oh yeah...my body begins to untangle and rest becomes possible.  I plant my umbrella in the sand, park my big behind on a beach chair and let the hours pass me by totally unaware.  I don't worry about dinner.  I don't worry about lunch.  I don't worry about breakfast.  I don't worry about laundry.  I don't worry about where anybody is at.  I just immerse myself in the beach-bum culture and even my natural curls go free!

So, when I think about rest, that's where I go, even if in my mind only.  My soul goes to the beach when it needs to find rest.  

As to "why" that is?  Well, because the rest I'm trying to get is the one that allows my body to relax while at a state of minimal functionality.  The rest I'm thinking about is temporary.  It's like an escape.  I can get that at the beach!  However, when it's time to join the real world again, my heart sinks because I know I have to get back to the stress of my everyday life.  So...was it true rest what I got at the beach?  Is that the rest the Bible talks about when it exhorts us to "rest in the Lord"?  Is that the rest that renews our strength and causes us to mount on wings like eagles?

I'm afraid not.  The rest I get at the beach is a mere break from the stress of my exhausting routine.  But it doesn't eliminate it.  It doesn't transform it.  It doesn't change it.

The rest that we are called to in Scripture is the one that only Christ can provide.  He is the Only One who can put our burdens upon His shoulders so we are not so labored and heavy laden (Matthew 11: 28-30).  It's the one that tells us to be still, wait and fret no more (Psalm 37: 7)  The rest that God provides doesn't evaporate.  It doesn't depend on a place or the perfection of one's circumstances.  It doesn't end when we leave. The rest that He invites us to have is the one that lasts for a lifetime and beyond, into eternity because it depends on Him.  It is the one that depends on His presence:

And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33: 14

Instead of causing us to become semi-catatonic with inactivity, His rest allows us to become strong so we can walk, run and fly without growing tired!

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40: 31

His rest is the assurance of salvation and the constancy of His affection.  It's silence and it's peace. It's knowing that He is our Portion forever!

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 
Psalm 73: 26

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5: 7

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. 
Psalm 62: 1

The final question is:  are we willing to turn to Him for the rest we seek?

I know that for as long as I live, my heart would turn to the beach.  I believe God knows that, and He meets me there.  But I also know that I must fix my eyes on Him, because only Him can provide the rest I need...the one that lasts though the days are long and tiresome...the one that endures through difficulties, hardship and pain...the one that stays with me even after I have to rejoin the craziness of my everyday reality.  I pray I can tune out the other substandard substitutes for rest that the world offers and turn to Him for the kind of rest that never ends.