Rest in Christ — Faith — Stylin' Granny Mama

The word respite is a waiting word, but one that usually gives the idea of a welcome break. A respite is defined by Webster’s Online Dictionary as (noun) a period of temporary delay, an internal rest or relief; as (verb) to grant a temporary period of relief to, or to grant a respite to, or to put off or delay. A respite is a term also applied to giving a caregiver a break from caring for an ill loved one.

As I type this my husband and I are on, what I would call, a respite. We got away for the purpose of rest and relief. Although, I think a true respite would be to completely unplug, with no phone or internet, something that is rarely attained, even when we purpose to do it. However, just getting a change of scenery and getting outside can provide a similar benefit to a true respite.

Doesn’t that picture make you want to get away? Ha, ha. Getting away is something both my spouse and I find cathartic to the chaos filled, fast paced and anxiety inducing lives we are often living. Even though we no longer have children at home, we live close to our girls, and in turn our grandsons. This is a wonderful thing and I count myself very blessed to have both of our grandsons in our lives and to be a part of helping our daughters and their significant others take care of and have input in their lives.

In addition to family my spouse’s job keeps him busy, and I have my blog and all the other responsibilities of maintaining a home, grocery shopping, making meals, laundry, the list goes on. As with most people we are also constantly bombarded by images, noise, and input in the form of news, social media, and everything else we have access to on the internet.

As I have in all the past posts on A Year of Waiting, I find a definite connection to our waiting on the Lord. So often, God brings circumstances into our lives to bring us into a waiting position. We are to wait for Him, whether it is for deliverance, justice, healing, rescue, hope, glory or perfection. Waiting is much less about what we are waiting for and more about who brought us to a place of waiting.

The Old and New Testaments are full of examples of men and women who had to wait. Noah had to wait while building the ark for the actual flood, over 100 years of waiting. Abraham waited a lifetime for a son. Hannah waited for a child. The people of Israel waited 400 years before they were lead out of slavery from the Egyptians. Simeon waited his whole life for the One who would save Israel. Jesus waited approximately 30 years before starting his public ministry. Life is filled with waiting.

When we look closely at the word respite we see it is a waiting that is meant for good. Indeed, I believe that all waiting brought about by God’s orchestration is meant for our good. As I mentioned in my original post at the beginning of this year, Word for 2024: Wait, waiting can be to keep us safe, give us rest, or give us time to think through a decision or recover from a difficult circumstance or tragedy.

Unfortunately, finding a respite in these busy, chaos filled, and tragic times can be difficult. It really takes a choice and often a predetermined plan. Whether you need to find time to spend with God or time to regroup and reenergize, or time to grieve and heal, the best way to get a respite is to schedule it in just like you would a doctor’s appointment, a trip to the gym, or a visit with a friend.

Don’t think of it so much in terms of quantity as in quality. An individual who is providing long term care for a sick or aging family member finds they are much better able to cope when they can just walk a way, even for a short time period. Whether it be 15 or 30 minutes for a walk outside, a two hour walk around the mall, or an entire weekend in a different location you can find respite in the smallest of changes and moments.

Also, recognize what might work for me, might not work for you. Not everyone likes the outdoors. I can actually sit out on our patio on a sunny day and feel like I am getting away from whatever struggle I am dealing with. Both my spouse and I love to take walks and hike, but not everyone does. The point is to find what works for you.

Respite is a type of waiting that is important for all of us to do. God made the Sabbath for our benefit, and for His glory, but it seems in this day and age, we have forgotten how to rest and be still, whether you believe the Sabbath is on Saturday or Sunday. God knew how restless a people we would be and also how fatigued we would become from our nonstop lifestyle.

“10 “Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.””

— Psalm 46:10 (NASB 1995)

“28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””

— Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB 1995)

I hope you will find time for a respite, and find time to go to the Creator of your soul who truly knows how to give you rest.

As I was pondering what to talk about this week on my Faith page, it occurred to me, perhaps we need to talk about rest. I have heard many people throwing around the term Covid fatigue and have had conversations with multiple friends who say how tired they feel. I know both my husband and I are tired. We all are longing for those days when we don’t have to wear masks and we can go about life as usual, but what if that day never comes? How can we find rest during the “new normal?” I am even tired of hearing that phrase. Pooh on the new normal. I would, very much, like to go back to the normal, normal! Ha, ha.

The word rest is mentioned over five hundred times in the Bible. The word, as we know it, originated before the 12th century with the Old to Middle English word, rasta - rest, and reste - literally stoppage, short for areste, as well as Anglo-French - rester - to remain. God, from the beginning, designated a cessation from activity on the 7th day of creation, or what He termed the Sabbath.

“By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.”

— Genesis 2:2 (NASB)

“but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you.”

— Exodus 20:10 (NASB)

I am often amazed that so many people fight against rest. This is very different from the inability to sleep. Insomnia is a widespread problem and is leaving hundreds of thousands of people sleep deprived. Stress, diet, lack of exercise and excessive screen time is contributing to the zombification of our world, but this is not the kind of rest that I am talking about today. The rest I want to look at has to do with an inner peace and calm.

I want to take a look at a few things that cause us to miss out on the internal rest that God has for us, and then I want to provide a few ideas for how to obtain His rest.

Anxiety

Anxiety is an ever increasing problem in our world. More and more people are feeling the pull of worry, much like the pull of gravity that keeps us rooted to the earth. Anxiety has become a companion that we try to ignore, but are all too aware of. I am picturing a pirate with his trusty parrot constantly sitting atop his shoulder, muttering about crackers and dead men telling no tales. Our anxiety is like that companion. It is unwanted, yet we seem to be unable to shoo it away, settling instead for the weight of it on our shoulders, but also trying to completely ignore it.

Lack of Hope

Hope is a word we sprinkle in our everyday conversations without really thinking about what we are saying. “I hope I get a raise.” “I hope it snows today.” “ I hope I can take a vacation this summer.” “I hope I get to go to the concert.” We are a people who desire hope, yet we don’t know how to truly obtain it. It is not wrong to want a raise, enjoy a weather change or take a vacation, but deeper hopes become longings and all to often our longings go unmet. When we are longing for something we often become weary with the desire.

Misplaced Trust

Most of us have been guilty of putting our trust in someone or something and having it or them disappoint. Over the last year, I have heard people putting their trust in science, the CDC, WHO and their elected officials. Millions of us place our trust in our masks, the vaccine and social distancing, thinking that is the answer to all of our problems. The Right places its trust in conservatism and the will of the people and the Left places its trust in liberality and their elected officials. As we have seen, all of the things in which we place our trust, can let us down.

So what is the answer? How do we obtain much needed rest, when the world around us is still a chaotic frenzy of half truths, and unknown ramifications? How do we help ourselves to find rest, when we are unable to stop the influx of negative information? Let’s take a look at what Jesus says about rest.

“28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.””

— Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB)

We know in the Old Testament, the Sabbath was a day of literal rest. No one was supposed to do any sort of work on that day. While Jesus did away with the need for the law, I still believe God wants us to rest from labor. In addition to that I would add that God would want us to rest from the things that are causing us a lack of rest.

In the above verse we see that Jesus calls us to action. Even though we are weary and burdened, He tells us to do three things: come, take and learn. The result is palpable: we will find rest for our souls. Why do we find rest when we come to Him? Let’s take a closer look.

Action 1 - Come

Webster’s Online Dictionary has a slew of meanings for the word come. It means to move towards something or someone; to arrive at a particular place or end result; to take on the aspect. Our coming to Jesus makes us more like Him. How will we ever be transformed if we are not spending time with our Savior? How will ever find rest, when we are not still at His feet? How will be ever overcome anxiety, or misplaced trust if we do not go to the source of truth and true trustworthiness?

Action 2 - Take

What is it that we are to take from Jesus? He instructs us to take His yoke upon us. The meaning of the word yoke as Jesus uses it in this verse is the “wooden bar or frame by which two draft animals are joined at the heads or necks for working together.” (Webster’s Online Dictionary) Why, of all things, would Jesus want us to take on this type of yolk. The point of a yolk is equal distribution of weight. In a farming situation, the yolk joined two powerful animals, like oxen together, to plow a field or pull a heavy load. Oxen must be trained to wear the yoke. Often the farmer will use an older more experienced ox with a younger less experienced ox to train them.

It might seem counterintuitive to take on a yoke, when we are in need of rest, but Jesus knows best how we should live this life and obtain rest. The goal is to take on His yoke so we are working through life together; so we are not bearing the difficulties of life alone. This working together, enables us to find rest in Him.

Action 3 - Learn

When we take on Jesus’ yoke he also wants us to learn from Him. Why does Jesus tell us to learn from Him? He says it is because He is gentle and humble in heart. We will not learn what is most important if our teachers are prideful, arrogant or filled with selfishness and hatred. Think about the teachers you had during your years of education. Which ones were the ones you learned the most from? I definitely remember several Sunday School, elementary, middle and high school teachers who had the greatest influence on me. Every single one was a person of character, humility and gentleness.

We can learn from Jesus, because of His humble and gentle heart. It is these characteristics that incline us to rest. Humility and gentleness enable us to find rest, because we are not trying to do everything in our own strength. Our reliance is on Christ.

Next week I’ll take a look at few practical ideas for finding rest. Until then, go to Jesus, take on His yoke and learn from Him.

A Year of Waiting - Respite

Our Need for Rest - Part 1