Rest.

Rest.

Matthew 11:28-30
²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Tonight, after working 169 hours the past two weeks, I was looking for a good scripture that talks about rest. I thought it would be a good way to encourage those who are tired and need a break, whether it be a break from work, school, car trouble (Erik) stress, etc... I came upon the familiar passage above. As I read it, I saw that it was talking about much more than just physical rest. It's talking about spiritual rest.

Since the days of Adam & Eve, sin has been in this world. The below scriptures from Romans 8 talk about all of creation longing to be delivered from the corruption of sin. We are surrounded by the effects of sin. Sickness, death, disease, hate, murder, suicide, crime, drugs, natural disasters, etc... are all a result of sin entering the perfect creation of God. Just like us, you can see how creation is longing for peace.

Christ came to bring peace. That peace will consist not only of eternal life for us, but also of a new earth. There will be no more tears, no more hurt, no more crime, no more shame, no more disease, no more disappointment, no more death, no more effects of sin.

I encourage you to read the below passage to get a further glimpse into this.

Romans 8:18-30 (The Message)
^18-21That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.

^22-25All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

^26-28Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.