I was up at 3AM this morning. That’s not because I’m this amazing productivity warrior. I was up and couldn’t get back to sleep. But it reminded me of the importance of getting rest. Real rest. More than just 8 hours. Christ talked about soul rest. I don’t mean the false doctrine that after our death we slip into this state of sub-existence of soul sleep. That’s not what I mean at all. I’m talking about the rest that comes from Christ being our burden bearer. It is so easy for us to get overwhelmed with burdens with which we were never intended to carry. And yet we begrudgingly carry them. All the time. Matthew 11:28-30 has become a sort of rallying cry for me these days. Busyness on every side. Problems that many times I cannot fix. I don’t even know where to begin. Certainly, this is an area I’m growing in but I have a long way to go–expressing biblical counsel for difficult real-life circumstances. A seminary can only equip so far. A course in biblical counseling is wonderful. But it can be sticky with layer after layer of complexity. Because of sin.
What’s so wonderful is that Christ offers rest–soul rest. This is rest that can only be found in Him. There is no substitute. No amount of time at a 5-star resort in the most exotic location you can imagine can compare with the true rest that Christ offers. Peter described it in his first epistle that we are to cast our care upon Christ. This is a continual casting. Time after time. Each time that I have the temptation to pick back up the impossible burden I am to cast it upon the Lord again. We are not designed–I mean quite literally physically nor physiologically–to cope with the stress that our 21st-century society demands of us. We are surrounded by a culture that changes at warp speed. And even then often we find ourselves in the harried race of keep up or catch up. This is where the grace of God comes into play time after time. Time alone with Him in prayer. Bible reading. Bible meditation. Writing God’s Word and how it’s applicable to me. All this is imperative to maintaining a quiet heart and one that is constantly mindful to cast its burden on the Lord. Elizabeth Elliot has a wonderful book entitled “Keep a Quiet Heart”. I’ve read it sporadically for the last two years or so. I like the title as much as anything. The very first section is called A Quiet Heart. With the rush and bustle of today’s world, there is perhaps no greater and more urgent message for God’s child. When Christ awoke to his frightened disciples and a sea fraught with a tempest God’s Word tells us that he rebuked the winds and the sea. And what rebuke did He use? Peace! Be still! But this is certainly not the first time we see a remarkably similar rebuke. The Psalmist said in the 46th Psalm “Be still and know that I am God.” Once again, this is a rebuke. It’s not so much that we need the encouragement. We need the rebuking. Our soul becomes burdened with all the boisterous cares of this life. And we fail to see that it is sin. It’s pride–assuming I am capable to porting a burden far too heavy and complex for me to bear. Yet, when we come to Christ in worship we remember that He is exalted. He is able. His grace is sufficient. He alone. I have all sufficiency in Christ alone. Not in my identity by what I can lead with in this life. Or how complex a problem I am trying to solve in my congregation or community. Christ IS my identity. He IS my life. Bring those impossibly heavy burdens to Christ. He’s quite able and sufficient to carry them and to solve them.