Resting in God’s Embrace

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
[Matthew 11:28]

     What do you think Jesus means when He says He will give us rest?  I was surprised recently to read that the Hebrew word for rest is nûaḥ or noach.  Does this name sound familiar?  Noah, anyone?  The idea of rest in the Bible can include the following wonderfully calming phrases: to settle down in a place and remain, to repose, to be quiet, to receive comfort, to be calmed, and to be allowed to let down, and to be granted rest. 

     God has been giving rest from the beginning of creation. A little bit of digging into a concordance can help us unpack the earliest origins of the word, “rest” or “noach.”  Genesis 3 tells us that the ideal rest for Adam and Eve was to remain where God had planted them in order to receive His wisdom as they matured. God offered them the unforced rhythms of working the garden, naming the animals, and partnering with Him to rule over His creation as they grew into the responsibilities God wanted them to assume.  What a wonderful plan!  God did the heavy lifting of defining good and evil, making the rules that ensured the goodness and beautiful working of life, while the man and woman had only to stay or rest within the spacious places of the garden and revel in the life God made for them.  But the moment Adam and Eve failed their test-after-rest, by defining good and evil for themselves, “rest” morphed into “stress.”  Those extra hissing “s’s” are courtesy of a crafty serpent who did not want to see the full potential of this beautifully cultivated place ripen or see Adam and Eve mature into magnificent bearers of God’s image.  Like these two gardeners, we face our own test of loyalty to our Creator.  We can easily be seduced into trying to make our own rules for life, defining good and evil for ourselves, and leaving God out of our personal equation.  Playing God like this is exhausting, leaving us no energy for bringing His good love into this wilderness place.

     The kind of rest God gives can be seen in the lives of Noah, David, Solomon, and Joshua, to name a few.  Each of these men were given a time of rest because they needed to repair and prepare for the test that lay ahead.  Noah rested in the ark before assuming the role of a new type of Adam in a new creation after the flood. David was given rest from His enemies so that he had time to think about building God a beautiful house.  Solomon was given rest before he took on the enormous task of raising up the Temple.  Joshua led the Israelites to a place of rest in the promised land before they faced the major battles that lay ahead.

    Are you tired? Weary?  Burned out?  Your Abba is offering you rest in His embrace.  In that space, He wants to remind you that He has already completed His plan to rescue you and someday bring you back to Eden.  You don’t need something novel; simply go back to His original design and let His life flow through you.  In His embrace, we can learn to rest as our definition of truth changes from a doctrine we chase to the simple reality of being with Jesus (Ephesians 4:21).  As you rest your head against God’s heartbeat of love for you, listen for His whisper.  He is reminding you that your permanent address is heaven, so you don’t have to dwell in your feelings, strivings, failures, misgivings, and unfulfilled hopes.  Abide in Him, for He has already secured your life for you and you can rest your faith there.  Rest and regroup with Jesus, for life’s tests will keep coming.  Just stop, breathe, and receive all that He has for you, for God knows what lies ahead and wants to prepare you to rise to the challenge.  Rest in His embrace; ask God for a discerning heart; then get up, go out, and take the overflowing love-gifts of your time with Him to others.

A Restful App: https://www.pauseapp.com/

Restful Verses:
Psalm 62:1
Psalm 103:1-6
Psalm 112:7
1 Kings 8:47-50
1 Kings 3:9
Deuteronomy 30