For the Diamonds Summer Event at the end of June, I gave a presentation titled “The Master’s Call to Rest.” Here’s the short, written version of my 45-minute session. (You can watch the entire session, and the other speakers’, with the all-access pass.)
From the Creation account in Genesis to the descriptions of Heaven in Revelation, the idea of rest appears prominently throughout Scripture. After six days of creating the world, God rested (Gen. 2:2). On their way out of Egypt, the Israelites received God’s command to observe Sabbath rest (Ex. 20:8). In His sermons, Jesus offered rest to His listeners, who were burdened by law and tradition (Matt 11:28-30). Throughout their letters, the apostles encouraged suffering believers with the hope of eternal rest.
But what about us today? What does rest look like in the middle of the storm of chronic illness? How can we truly rest when the storm threatens to drown us with waves of pain, drench us with rains of grief, and capsize us with winds of change? Join me in the pages of God’s Word as we learn how to hear and obey the Master’s call to rest, even in the storm.
1. God calls us to rest in Jesus’ finished work.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30
At the time of Jesus’ words, the Jewish culture was structured upon laws from the Old Testament. These laws were broken down, fleshed out, and added to by the religious leaders so that being a good Jew meant obeying countless rules.
In contrast to all this effort, Jesus offered them rest. Rest from a religion of doing into a relationship of done. Rest from external actions to internal belief.
This invitation to rest in Jesus–what we call the gospel, or the good news–became the bedrock message of the church that we still proclaim today. It’s the first way God calls us to rest, because as Scripture points out, we can’t earn God’s favor. We can’t work our way to Heaven. We can’t do enough to get saved.
We simply believe. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God, 100% man and 100% God. Believe that He lived a perfect life, died in our place to pay for our sins, and rose again on the third day. It’s as simple as that.
If you have believed this, don’t think you’re exempt from this call to rest. Even veteran Christians fall into the trap of feeling like they have to work to earn God’s favor. Oh sure, we’ve been saved, but we need to make God like us, right? God will be disappointed with us if we don’t do enough, right? He’ll answer our prayers more if we work harder for Him, right?
Wrong. This is something I struggle with, and especially in our society, it’s an easy lie to believe. But it’s wrong. Scripture tells us God loves us no matter what. (See Romans 8:1, 38-39.)
We didn’t earn His salvation, so nothing we do or can’t do will change the favor He’s already showered upon us. Rest brings us into God’s family, and from there we work for His glory, not for His favor.
So whether you’re not yet a member of God’s family or you’re a seasoned believer, the Master calls you to rest in the finished work of Jesus–for salvation and for every day afterward.
Recommended resources: the free ebook Done by Cary Schmidt, the book Grace for the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman, and the song “The Father Looks on Me” by Chris Anderson.
2. God calls us to rest in His unchanging character.
I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
Psalm 18:1-2
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
This idea of God being a rock, a fortress, and a stronghold all relate to His providing strength, protection, and rest in a storm. In other words, a refuge.
When we rest in the character of God, this knowledge, this trust acts like a heavy coat in winter weather. Have you ever gone outside in the cold but you don’t really feel the cold because you’re bundled in layers? It might be windy or raining, but you’re okay because you’ve got a well-insulated, wind-breaking, waterproof coat keeping you warm, dry, and safe.
This is the idea we see in Psalm 91:1:
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
(In Spanish, the word for “secret place” translates not only into the word “shelter” but also into the same word used for “coat” or outer layer.)
So when you’re in the middle of a storm, wrap your soul in the coat of knowing who God is. This knowledge, not just in the head but in the heart, will give you rest.
Recommended resource: the book What Do I Know About My God? by Mardi Collier.
3. God calls us to rest in His steadfast promises.
I see two types of rest-giving promises in the New Testament:
A. Promises of future rest from affliction
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:3-4
Isn’t that a glorious future God has promised us? One of the ways we can rest in God’s promises is believing in and looking forward to the future we’ll have with Him. I don’t know about you, but one of the things that gives me peace in the storms of this life is knowing the storms won’t last forever. (See “Journey to the East: A Poem of Hope in Chronic Illness.”)
B. Promises of present comfort with the affliction
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
We see this comfort demonstrated in two ways:
- in God’s presence with us. He promises in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave us or forsake us.
- in God’s plan for good. Romans 8:28 promises that God works all things for our good.
So if you’re in the middle of a storm, take heart. Find rest in the promises that God is with you and He is working for good, even if we can’t see it.
Recommended resources: Charlie Carter’s series on discipleship on The Thinklings Podcast and the old hymn “Standing on the Promises.”
4. God calls us to rest in our defining purpose.
Now when it was day, [Jesus] departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.”
Luke 4:42-43
Jesus knew His purpose for His time on earth, and as we see in this passage, His clear sense of purpose allowed Him not just to say yes to what He was called to do but also to say no to what He wasn’t called to do.
I look at the life of Jesus and I see Him thriving and resting in what He was supposed to do, rather than stressing or rushing or wondering about what was or wasn’t God’s purpose for Him. (See Starting Another Day With Chronic Illness.)
His “secret” lies in what Christian author Gordon MacDonald calls the private world. The inner workings of a believer’s life. The heart.
Ordering our private world is important because it’s in this private world that we understand and return to our defining purpose, which allows us to rest in our yes’s and our no’s.
This concept is especially important for those of us with chronic illness, because our resources are more limited. As a result, we should make sure that what resources we do have are being channeled into what God’s wants us to be doing so that we’re being good stewards of what He’s given us.
For example–I know God has gifted and called me to write, to teach, to play music, and to invest in the people around me.
Therefore, I’m not going to start a podcast about baking. My ministry in the local church won’t include designing graphics for the PowerPoints or building furniture for the nursery. If I’m offered a job in forensic psychology I won’t take it. Instead, I’m going to channel my resources into what I know I’m called and gifted to do. I’m going to set boundaries based on my purpose and my priorities: what I can and can’t do, when, for how long, and so on.
Now, this is not to say we shouldn’t step out of our comfort zone or we can’t be the finger in the dike in an emergency. But God has given us the freedom to choose, and when I look at Jesus, I see Him choosing yes and choosing no freely and firmly based on His purpose, His priorities, and His mission. This discernment comes from ordering your private world.
In music, rest gives clarity; not playing notes at times throughout the piece allows us to more clearly hear the notes that are played. So in life, not working gives clarity to the work that we are doing.
Rest helps us know our purpose, and knowing our purpose in turn helps us rest–we can rest physically in what we should and shouldn’t be doing, and we can rest mentally in the confidence and satisfaction of, like Jesus, doing what we’re supposed to be doing.
So if you’re struggling through a storm, like me, let’s not just listen to the Master’s call but let’s be like the Master: let’s know our defining purpose–resting in our yes’s and our no’s–as we walk through every day, every hour, every moment of our lives for His glory.
Recommended resources: the book Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald and the book Boundaries: When to Say Yes and How to Say No by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend.
What storm or storms are you in right now? How can you obey God’s call to rest in Jesus’ finished work, in God’s unchanging character, in His steadfast promises, and in your defining purpose?
The Valley 