Restful Rest

By Pamela Rose Williams

Matthew 11:28–29 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.

Rest, we all need it but do we all get it? How many times have you laid your head to rest only to find that you toss and turn rather than really rest? You know you have had good rest when you wake, and you feel refreshed and rejuvenated. But did you truly get “restful rest”.

This “restful rest” of which I speak is the rest that you can get only from the Sleep Master the One whom created rest for Himself first: “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made” (Genesis 2:2).

This rest set a pattern for us. We work and then we rest. We lay our weary body down and it drifts into a slumber, healing sore muscles and even sore brain cells. This is a good rest and it is a necessary rest, but even so, it is not that “restful rest”.

The Key Bible Passage today is one that is familiar to many. It reminds us that Jesus wants us to give Him our burdens and it promises that He will give us rest. He offers us His yoke so that we might learn from Him. This “yoke” refers to the burden of the law. He is offering Himself as the Master and inviting us to follow Him. Following Jesus only has to happen once. When we follow Him we no longer have to keep all of those old commandments. When we keep our eyes upon Him we will do what pleases Him. It is no longer about keeping the letter of the law, but now it is about believing that He is the fulfillment of that law! In this our burden to keep the law becomes light because Jesus already did everything we need to become righteous. We no longer need to work our way to become acceptable to God in our own self-righteous ways. We no longer need to carry the burden of the law.

God promises to go before us and give us rest (Exodus 33:14). We are encouraged to rest and sleep in the LORD (Psalms 4:8; 37:7). He leads us, restores us, keeps us safe and feeds us (Psalm 23). We can have that “restful rest” and it is found only in Jesus. We are reminded and promised that rest by the writer of Hebrews “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Hebrews 4:9-11)

Lord make us to see that we need Jesus. Help us to get that “restful rest” that only He gives. Draw us to love Your word and seek to meditate upon it throughout the day. And mostly Lord, give us a grateful heart and prompt us to tell others about our good night’s sleep – Your “restful rest”.