Learning to Rest: The Practical Application

Having previously established a theological foundation for a Christian understanding of rest, we must now ask how we should apply to doctrine to our daily living. We will do this by observing some implications of rest, noting some hindrances to rest, examining some benefits of rest, and suggesting some practical tips for rest.

We must believe that God means what he says about this subject. God is introduced to us as the working God in Genesis 1. His working nature is offset by the seventh day, a day of Sabbath rest (Genesis 1:31). Work and rest form a part of God’s being. It is part of God’s created design, and therefore it is written also into the DNA of human life. We must believe and practise this. If we choose to disregard the godly principle of rest, we go against God’s design and do damage to ourselves.

We must believe that both work and rest have become a real challenge after the fall in Genesis 3. Sin undermines the biblical concepts of work and rest. We can typically see this in terms of how our view of work is either exaggerated (e.g. workaholism) or diminished (e.g. the lazy man, the sluggard of Proverbs). We need to avoid both and strive for the work-rest balance that the Bible envisages.

As fallen, but regenerated, beings, we must learn again what it means to rest. Entering a state of rest is possible. If you have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, then you have begun to enter into God’s Sabbath rest. Hebrews 4:10 says, “Whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” It is ultimately a sanctification issue. It is an invitation to grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must learn to rest, not in our hoarded resources, but in the kind, gracious, merciful providence of our Creator and Saviour. The seventh year Sabbath rules are a powerful illustration of this.

Rest begins with a mindset that must be cultivated. For this, we need time, method, and application.

God has commanded times of physical and spiritual rest for our good. The New Testament Sabbath is our very best day of rest in the week. In this regard, Jesus must remain our focal point. He is the end of the law. We need to be reminded that the rest of the seventh day was not first published in the law. It was first published in the perfect Garden of Eden. It is rooted in creation ordinance. It is our DNA. It should be catered for in our lifestyles. It is the market day for the soul. It is meant to be a focus day for resting in God. It is given to refocus our spiritual priorities as we gather under the word of God. Other times for rest are found in our everyday routines , where we need physical (sleep) and spiritual (a spiritual quiet time) rest. Furthermore, we need sustained times of rest—vacations, sabbaticals, etc.—to help body and soul to catch up.

We rest through regular, prayerful reading of the Bible and meditation upon Scripture. The old theologians called this having “communion” with God. The Sabbath and the daily routines help here. When we increase our knowledge of God’s word we will find it easier to rest in God and his promises.

We also get to know him through our fellowship with other Christians. We learn from others. Paul calls people to imitate him as he imitates Christ. We learn particularly from people who have walked faithfully with Jesus over a long time, whose lives demonstrate that restful spirit. We must also rest in God’s sanctifying providences.

All this must be followed by the conscious application of Scripture. We must not only be hearers of the word, but doers (James 1:22–24). “Watch your life and doctrine closely” (1 Timothy 4:16, NIV). We must be practical theologians in the matter of rest. Do it!

Many hindrances to rest start in the mind. Here, we think of the effect that anger, fear, resentment, unforgiveness, jealousy, and anxiety produce. Anxiety, for instance, is nothing but failing to rest in God as provider (see Matthew 6:25–34). Anxiety is a pagan mindset. The antidote to anxiety is to engage in different thinking. Philippians 4:6–7 is a good example. The strategy in Ephesians 4–5 is to put off unhelpful patterns of thinking and to put on Christ centred thinking and acting.

Lack of faith in God’s word concerning the matter of rest (Hebrews 4:1–2) is another hindrance to rest. When we ignore God’s word concerning the necessity of rest, we will frustrate ourselves, as those who disregarded God’s rules for gathering manna frustrated themselves in Exodus 16. The people failed to obey this command because they ultimately failed to trust in his provision (16:27).

Dissatisfaction is another problem. Ecclesiastes 4:7–8 observes, “Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, ‘For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?’ This also is vanity and an unhappy business.” People work to relieve dissatisfaction by amassing riches but fail to see that their loss of relationship with God and with people ultimately cripples them. Obsessive work only makes people more restless and unhappy.

The works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19–21) are essentially a refusal to rest in God’s providence. Without holiness, there will be no rest. There is no peace—no rest—for the wicked (Isaiah 48:22; 57:21).

We also struggle with a work-rest imbalance. There is the ever-present danger of overwork. Spurgeon, Calvin, Luther, and Baxter all overworked and suffered in their bodies. All died relatively young. Is there not perhaps a subtle assumption that God will not be able to do the work without us? I am convinced that Spurgeon, in his early days, overworked himself so that his ministry was affected adversely. It is said that approximately one-third of his last 22 years of ministry was spent out of the Tabernacle pulpit, either suffering, convalescing, or taking precautions against return of illness.

Is an exaggerated work ethic anything less than idolatry? Is it not simply trusting in our own provision rather than trusting in God?

Biblical rest produces a peace that is from God (see Philippians 4:7). It is not dependent on the circumstances around us. In the Scriptures, we read of those who do not enter God’s rest and suffer the consequences of restlessness or lack of peace. This is the situation that plagues many people today.

Contentment often finds its source in rest. We read of those who enter God’s rest and find joy and contentment despite their circumstances in life (see Philippians 4:11–13). Paul learned the secret of contentment in affliction. He had faced many trials but was content because he did not look to the circumstances but found his rest in God. Many people look to all the wrong things to provide this deeper spiritual rest, resulting in increased restless.

Biblical rest promotes physical rest. When we have God in view, the centre holds. If the centre holds then we can go to sleep at night, knowing that our Father sustains us. “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2). Physical rest without spiritual rest is not satisfying, nor is spiritual rest without physical rest restoring.

Make use of Sunday to learn to rest in God. Feed and meditate on the word that is brought to your soul. A good church is Scripture soaked. Make sure that you attend Communion services. They are repeated invitations to rest in Christ’s finished work.

Use the church holy days (Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost) to be reminded of God’s grand plan. A mind that sees God’s plan at work over time is a mind that rests in his promises and providence. We see that the faithful Father is in charge of history, and therefore we will not fear or be anxious about anything.

Take holidays and sabbaticals. In the Old Testament, God instituted various patterns or cycles of rest, creating regular, God-focused rhythms for the Israelites. Weekly, monthly, seasonal, annual, and sabbatical rhythms can provide us with a freeing rest, particularly when Christ is kept in focus. Sadly, such times may hinder us from experiencing a deep satisfying rest when Jesus is excluded.

Take charge of what thoughts inhabit your mind. Philippians exhorts people to think about things that are good and true and beautiful. Colossians encourages Christians to imagine the glorious future that awaits all those who look to Christ. Second Corinthians asks believers to recognise current problems and difficulties as momentary afflictions compared to the eternal rest that awaits. To rest fully is to anchor the mind upon Jesus and the perfect future that awaits all who follow him.

Examine existing desires. Many people don’t experience true rest because they are consciously or subconsciously pursuing something that appears to promise rest, but which doesn’t deliver. The Bible considers anything we pursue above Christ to be an idol. An idol has a controlling position in one’s heart, causing one to spend passion, energy, emotional, and financial resources, on it. In the end, we find that it ultimately doesn’t satisfy. This is a frequent theme in the book of Ecclesiastes. Repentance and return in such cases is necessary. We need to die to a false sense of self-sufficiency.  Without this repentance, people cannot experience deep rest. If there is a solution that promises to fix all life’s problems, and it’s not rooted in Jesus, repent of it.

Remember also that there are seasons in life where we may not be able to experience the rest that we would want. New parents, for example, cannot take a day off from caring for the needs of their infant. In these seasons, when people are not able to enjoy physical rest properly, they need not feel guilty, but instead turn to God with hopeful expectation for future rhythms of rest and work, always remembering that “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9), both from an eternal perspective and in this lifetime. God’s covenantal goodness remains constant.