Coming Home to Our Final Rest

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.—Heb. 4:11 (ESV)

It has been about ten years since the events that begun this journey of understanding rest more deeply. In fact, I am still learning.

But I would say that it is in the practicing of daily and weekly rest, rhythmically and faithfully, that has had the most purifying, refining effect. For that is what rest really is: an act of trust. As I rest, I grow as I shrink, remembering that I am not God of my life—He is.

However, it is also easy to get in a rut. Sure, I can work hard, aiming for Gospel-directed productivity. I can faithfully practice rest so I can keep enduring for the long haul. But I can also easily lose my sense of purpose in these rhythms when I forget that there is an eternal dimension to them as well.

So every time I rest, I need to remind myself that I am not just merely practicing self-stewardship or training for endurance. I am also proclaiming to myself and others there is an eternal rest to come. Every Sabbath is a reminder that Jesus is leading me to the place He is preparing for me: a home in heaven where I will dwell with my beloved Savior forever.

I rest to remind myself this is where I am ultimately headed.

Christ’s New Kingdom

One of the things that God has been teaching me over the past few years is the importance of His Story. I have always been someone who wants to use her life for Gospel purposes. I plan, and then I work my plan. I desire with all my heart to glorify God in all that I do.

However, even that can be short-sighted if I forget the bigger picture. He’s not just about helping us to live up to our potential. He is preparing for a far bigger event: a wedding where we, the Bride of Christ, will be joined together with Him. On that day, all evil will be eradicated, justice will be done, and righteousness will reign.

And that, my friends, is where our eternal rest lies. This is what awaits us. This is what colors our work here. If we strive for anything, it is this rest in the new heaven and earth, the Kingdom of God. We move towards this destination as our goal, one day at a time, where our beloved Savior awaits us.

Even now, He is preparing a place for us even as we are journeying towards Him. What joy is set before us! When I remember that even if I should live a long and full life here, it is nothing compared to the eternity I will spend with Him.

Practicing For Heaven

Over the past few years, the reality of this reunion with Christ has become the greatest motivator for me to practice rest. When I pause every week to spend time with Him, I am reminding myself that this is where I am headed.

But I also get a chance to experience a little taste of it while I’m waiting. Every time I pause and refrain from my work, I have the opportunity to not just remember my eternal destination, I get to experience it in real time.

Being here on earth means that it is not a permanent experience, but it is a reminder nonetheless. Perhaps this is what it means to “strive to enter that rest.” There is a discipline involved, an exertion we make to prepare for and refrain from working. But it is so worth it.

What a gift God has given us in the Sabbath! Will you humbly receive it and all the many benefits it gives as well?

Coming Full Circle

As a mother of a disabled child, I will not be able to experience a full and complete Sabbath from my work. I still need to get her up, brush her teeth, feed her, and make sure she is suitably occupied every day. I need to watch the clock to make sure she goes to the bathroom. In that way, I cannot stop working.

But God invites me to rest in the ways that I can. I can also make arrangements for her care while I take that rest, which is why I have opted—at least in this season of my life—to enjoy part of my Sabbath while she is at school. It’s not ideal nor the standard, but it is what works for my situation in life.

Since I have started developing these rhythms of work and rest after that turning-point retreat, God has given me peace with my life. I don’t feel like I am fighting against what God has ordained for me (at least not as often). This too is rest.

When things are hard, I am reminded that God is using even my hardship for His glory. He is refining and sanctifying me in my sufferings. He comforts me in the midst of the pains and frustrations I encounter. And then He promises me that He is with me so I can re-enter that work and serve yet again.

This pattern and practice helps me in my work, but it also reminds me that one day, even this will end. One day I will not be dealing with disability—in myself or in my daughter.

Until that day, I recommit to my work with a fresh heart. This is how we endure in this long marathon of life.

Getting Started in Your Rhythms

I hope that after working through this series you will consider how you might thoughtfully incorporate biblical rest in your life.

Start with small moments of daily rest. Arrange your day to make time to sleep well. View this time as a way to celebrate a good day’s work, not as a necessary evil. Depending on your season of life, try shorter daily rests as well as longer ones.

If you can, practice a weekly Sabbath, not just by yourself but with others around you, those you call your family. Work hard when it’s time to work, but let that rest day flavor and fill you with hope that one day you will rest from your labors. Rest when it is time to rest, celebrating with the Lord and others the good things He has done before picking up once again.

However long it is, rest to replenish your soul and your body, humbly honoring your human limits. As you do so, proclaim and practice the reality that a more permanent rest is coming.

When we do this over and over, we are reminding ourselves of that Day and living in faith. It is saying that yes, while I need to work hard, it is not all up to me. I am but a part of the body. Christ is the head. He is the Good Shepherd, leading us home.

In this way, I pray that you and I will continue to live out—in part—what we eagerly await: dwelling with our beloved Savior, the one who gives us perfect and eternal rest.