You Need Some Rest!

As New Testament believers, we are no longer under the Old Testament law. Our salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus, not of religious works and rule keeping. As such, we are not required to rigidly observe the Sabbath each Saturday or to ritually celebrate the Biblical feasts throughout the calendar year. But the spirit of renewal that these holy days represented is still alive and well in our Christian faith, so if you want to be alive and well as a follower of Jesus, you would be wise to carve out for yourself a regular rhythm to recalibrate your life – body, mind and spirit.

The Journey // Focus: Leviticus 23:1-3

The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for holy assembly. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the Lord’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.

We are no longer under the Old Testament law. Our salvation is by grace through faith, not of works, so we are not required to woodenly observe the Sabbath each Saturday or to religiously celebrate the Biblical feasts throughout the calendar year. But the spirit of renewal that these holy days represented is still alive and well in our New Testament faith, so if you want to be alive and well as a follower of Jesus, you would do well to carve out for yourself a regular rhythm of renewal.

Even Jesus practiced this rhythm of renewal. Mark 6:31-32 tells us,

Because so many people were coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn’t even have time to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they left in a boat to a solitary place.

Now we are not told what Jesus and the disciples did when got there, but we do know this:

• They ceased their normal activity
• They retreated from the demands of people
• They set aside a specific time and place for quiet
• They were with Jesus in an undivided way

And that rhythm of renewal resulted in rest. That same rhythm will work for us; it’s how we can abide in Christ: pausing from routine; scheduling time and place for solitude; giving access into our lives to Jesus. That’s a simple but sure template, if you need one.

Now let me hasten to clarify some things about abiding in Christ, and its importance to New Testament faith:

First, renewal does not mean an absence of busyness or the rejection of work. Jesus was often busy; but he was never hurried. Being busy is an outer condition—it’s external; being hurried is a sickness of the soul—it is internal. For Jesus, life was full and his schedule demanding, but he never allowed himself to be forced into a pace that squeezed his access to his Father.

Strenuous effort and urgent devotion to our work along with the satisfaction of achievement are part of the divine glory in being human. So abiding in Christ isn’t about quitting work and retreating to a commune. It’s about carving out then fiercely protecting “God-time” in your busy world. We are living in a demanding age—and it is going to stay that way. But we can reject hurry sickness by practicing an unforced life.

Second, renewal is a part of the very nature of God in whose image we’ve been created. Genesis 2:2-3 says, “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And he blessed that seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.”

Notice how this rhythm was fleshed out in God’s life because it shows us what we are to do in this time we set aside for renewal:

One, God rested. When he came to the end of this very aggressive project of creating the universe, God relaxed! And by that, the intentional act of rest was declared holy and made bless-able. Why did he rest? Was he tired? No! God rested, in part, to give us an example of how our lives are to be ordered. Theologian B.B. Warfield wrote, “He who needed no rest, rested from His work…that by His example he might woo man to his needed rest.”

Two, God reflected. He paused to notice. There’s a three-line refrain repeated throughout Genesis 1: “And God said… and it was so… and God saw that it was good.” At the end of every activity and the end of each day, he paused to review and said, “That’s awesome.” Whatever he creates is inherently perfect—so what’s the point of reflecting? Well, God just seems to really enjoy remembering the thrill of making it. And by that he shows reflection must be part of our lives, too. Creating space for noticing instigates holiness, depth, gratitude—and health in our being.

Three, God recreated. It was his recess; it was time to play and enjoy what he’d just created. Psalm 104 says, “He makes clouds his chariot. He rides on the wings of the wind. He grasps lightening in his hand and commands it to strike its mark, and it always does.” Doesn’t that sound like God thoroughly enjoys being God? He likes his work, so he plays. And he modeled it so we’d include it in our renewal. C.S. Lewis was right,

Our leisure, even our play, is a matter of serious concern.

Jesus says in John 15:4, “Abide in me, as I abide in you.” Without a rhythm of renewal, work reminds us that this world demands our sweat; but by abiding—resting, reflecting, recreating—we’re reminded that our soul belongs to Someone and someplace else.

“Abide in me,” Jesus says. “Come away with me.” That’s not only a command, it’s an invitation—and it requires a choice on your part. Will you? Dallas Willard said,

It is the responsibility of every believer to carve out a satisfying life under the loving rule of God, or sin will start to look good!

Jesus invites you to come away with him from the busyness of life and the bondage of hurriedness for a satisfying renewal of your soul. Will you? Will you honor a regular rhythm of renewal in your life?

If you want to really live, you’ve got to make that choice!