There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For He that is entered into His rest, He also hath ceased from His own works, as God did from His.
Hebrews 4:9-10
As I write this, I am recovering from a foot surgery. Limited in the physical activities I can do, I rest my body more hours than I did before surgery. I am giving my foot the best chance at full healing when I rest.
When most people think of the word “rest,” they think of a halt to physical activities. They think of their body resting: on a couch for a short nap, or in bed for a full night’s sleep. And this is correct, for God designed these earthly bodies to rest. It is known that if one goes without sleep for days, they suffer from severe physical, mental and emotional symptoms, eventually leading to death if no sleep is given. Even apart from sleep, to “rest” can mean to relax, to “put up one’s feet” after a long day of work. There’s nothing quite like sitting down after being on your feet much of the day!
God clealy wants our physical bodies to rest. It is a gift from Him to be able to do so! But did He only equate rest with physical sleep? The Bible would say “no.”
Take a look at the following verses –
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.
Genesis 2:3
When I was a child, this verse confused me. God is eternal and doesn’t have a physical body like we have; so why does He need to rest? Since everything written in the bible is true and has some significance and meaning, for God to “rest” must mean something other than “going to sleep.”
Some Bible scholars say this verse is an example to humanity. God is CREATING the Sabbath by REVEALING what we should do on that day. In the Old Testament, God ordered the Israelites to work 6 days and rest 1 day a week. God created the Sabbath around the same time He created day, night, and the passing of time! God “ceased from work” during that first Sabbath, showing us how to do the same.
During His time on Earth – when He DID physically sleep and rest – Jesus spoke of rest in a different way.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
Why would Jesus say He would “give us rest” when we can already rest? He was not talking of physical rest, but emotional and spiritual rest! He is calling His disciples to “cease from work” in a different way: cease from striving to enter the Kingdom of Heaven through your own “good works” and effort. He recognized that humanity’s greatest need was NOT physical rest or even perfect physical health – it was SALVATION. And how is salvation obtained? Through RESTING in the completed work of the cross!
Trusting in the work Jesus already did, because He took OUR sin and labors and placed them upon Himself! We never find true spiritual and emotional rest on this Earth – or in eternity, for that matter – unless we learn how to rest in Jesus! Souls in Hell do not find rest in any way, because only God is true, perfect rest.
For centuries, “RIP” would be written on each deceased person’s gravestone. What does this abbreviation mean? “Rest in Peace.” The living are hoping that the dead are resting in peace in the afterlife! They hope the dead have reward for all the work they accomplished on earth.
Do ALL the dead truly “rest in peace”? Jesus answered that question for us during His earthly ministry. He showed us how to gain the rest we all deeply long for. The following verses speak of this “true rest”, applying to eternal salvation –
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into His rest, he hath also ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
Hebrews 4:9-11
We only labor to “enter into that rest” – the rest of eternal life! And who has eternal life? Only those who place their full confidence and trust in Jesus; this requires NO GOOD WORKS to be accomplished before or after giving your life to Christ. No; not even one! What an amazing gift we do not deserve!
Life = peace, rest, and eternal joy (Heaven)
Death = suffering, pain, and no rest… ever (Hell)
It is possible, therefore, to be physically rested on this earth and – at the same time – be in emotional and spiritual turmoil. Those who know and love God can most likely reflect back on a point in their life when they experienced true PEACE in their soul. Peace is similar to rest in many ways, including the cessation of fighting, of striving for something. Those who have found rest in Christ can truly say “be still my soul”, even when the physical body may be ill and sleep –deprived.
So which is more important to gain: physical rest or spiritual rest? I’ll let you be the one to decide.
Hey Ya’ll! I am exited to announce that I had the privilege of interveiwing Rachel to go further into this topic. Check out part one and two at the bottom of this post below!
Happy Running, have a great week!
Rachel Indihar is a single woman in her 30s living in the Twin Cities. She has been a writer since childhood and loves using language to express herself and share stories with others. Her favorite things in life are loving the Lord, fellowshipping with other believers, reading, coffee shops, singing and playing the flute, and cuddling with her kitty, Timmy.
Be Still and Run 