Rest is good. When you are completely exhausted there is nothing better than lying your head on a soft pillow and drifting off into a beautiful night of deep sleep and rest. When your body is tired from physical activity it is so pleasant to stop and rest. As you do, your body catches up on oxygen as the heart works double time to pump that precious element all around your extremities. And one of my favorites, when you are mentally spent from intense thought and the processing of the problems and trials of life, you need to rest your mind. To sit still, listen to some soft music and allow that gray matter between your ears to cool down. Mental rest is so important. But what about spiritual rest? Out of the body, mind and spirit, it seems that most people can easily overlook spiritual rest. Friends, physical and mental rest are vital, but spiritual rest is the key to living a joyful, abundant life. And that spiritual rest can only be secured from one location…the Lord Jesus Christ.
The word rest is used a massive 326 times throughout the King James Version of God’s Word. God has a lot to say about rest and when God has a lot to say about something, well, it’s very important we listen up. The thing about rest is when you have it, you are even-keeled, calm, and seem to just deal better with whatever comes your way. But when you are not well rested, watch out. And even worse, if you are physically, mentally and spiritually exhausted, well, that’s a recipe for disaster. When I am not well rested in all facets, I’m much more volatile, much shorter with people and much more likely to make rash, poor decisions. God knows this and therefore He beckons us to constantly seek rest in Him. To come to Him as we would to a spring when we are in dire thirst. To realize that we need refreshment and to realize that He is that refreshment. True rest lies in the Lord.
Today in Deuteronomy 25 we see a beautiful example of rest that fully deserves to be explored.
“Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” Deut 25:17-19
Do you remember the battle where Moses was on top of a mountain and when he would hold up the staff of the Lord over his head the Israelites would conquer, but when he dropped his hands the enemy would start to win? That was the battle of Rephidim and that is the battle that God is mentioning here. Eventually Aaron and Hur picked up on this little nuance and as a result the two men simply held up the arms of Moses continually and the Israelites won the battle. The enemy that day? Amalek. It was an unprovoked attack upon God’s people as they were fleeing slavery in Egypt. God didn’t care for it then and He doesn’t care for it now either. He is reminding His people that they are to avenge this wrong and blot out the Amalekites for eternity. But don’t miss all that is here, as is usual with God’s Word, there’s so much more if you keep digging.
You see, Amalek represents our flesh. Before you called upon Jesus, the sin nature you inherited at birth controlled your life. You did what was pleasing to your body, mind and eyes. As a result, this uncontrollable sin took you to a dark place and it is there that most of us called out to Jesus to save us. To save us from the downward spiral that the sin of our flesh so easily transports us to. Notice in the last verse it says that God will give them rest from not just Amalek but “all the enemies around you.” And where will this rest be found? In the land God is giving them, the Promised Land, which represents the land God promises to believers in Jesus, Heaven. Folks, turn the corner here and see the amazing promise of rest God is giving us in this passage. God is telling us there will be a day when you will receive full rest from the enemy of your sin nature and the battle it brings to your life each day. And that beautiful rest will be an eternal rest, in Heaven with Jesus.
What a promise of rest we receive here this morning. As we shed these earthly bodies our spirits will live on forever as God intended. And as your spirit lives eternally it will require a place to reside. There are two choices, Heaven or Hell. The main difference? God lives in one of the places and He is absolutely void in the other. Friends, if you admit that you have sinned against a perfect God and you need for that sin to be forgiven, then you are in a very good place. All you need to do know is believe. Believe that Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, came to this planet as a perfect, sin-free sacrifice. Believe that He died on a Cross to pay the penalty for your sins and that three days later He triumphantly rose to defeat the death of sin forever. Believe that if you call upon the name of Jesus, He will save you from eternal separation from Him. And friend, as a result of your belief, He will adopt you as His own and He will prepare a place for you with Him in Heaven. And it is there, in the very presence of God Almighty, that you will experience the most peaceful, beautiful, complete rest the world has and ever will know. True rest. Your very soul will rest as you gaze upon the face of Jesus.
Oh, what a day of rest that will be. But for today we are here, and we can still seek the beautiful rest of Jesus. Be still and draw near to God today and know that He is on the throne and in control of this world. Be quiet and spend time with Him in His Word today, He will as a result, bestow His peace, wisdom and joy upon your obedient life. Get on you knees in prayer today and pray for those all around you that need His help. In this process you will feel the rest of God come upon you. Choose today to bless others before you are blessed. Jesus will see your heart, a heart that yearns to become more like His, and the peace of the Lord will calm you. Seek rest in the Lord today and know that one day, one glorious day, He will give you perfect rest with Him in Heaven.
Rest is good.
Bless you, as today, you seek to bless others.
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