Resting in God

The bottom line on time management, integration, community, and personal growth is the extent to which we are able to rest in the love, presence, and power of God.

The Bible is filled with talk about rest. Not passivity or inaction, but a vibrant, life-changing, God-filled state of rest. I have been amazed in the last few years as I have begun to discover just how much the Bible says about it. The prophets (“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” Isa. 30:15); the gospels (“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28); and the epistles (“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.” Heb. 4:1) alike reverberate with a call to rest.

The rest to which God calls us flows from an indomitable hope, rooted in the confidence that we have been chosen “according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” (Eph. 1:11) We are neither fully responsible for accomplishing God’s work, nor for securing our own salvation. Our confidence in this frees us from the growth-stunting overactivity that results from our efforts to earn salvation and God’s love, and to do God’s work for Him.

In the midst of one of my bouts of overactivity, a friend told me a story. The story opens in heaven…

Encircled by a rainbow and resembling an emerald, God sits on His throne. His throne appears as jasper and carnelian. A sea of glass, clear as crystal, spreads before God’s throne, and four living creatures are in the center around His throne. The twenty-four elders, dressed in white with crowns of gold, sit on their thrones, which surround the central throne.

At this point, the scene differs from the account in Revelation. One of the angels presses through the great multitude of hosts, the twenty-four elders, and the living creatures. The angel approaches the throne and hands God a piece of paper. The paper causes God tremendous anxiety. The entire heavenly host, rather than being gloriously caught up in praise of God’s inexpressible goodness, begin running around, frantically upset. The note reads, “Anne Carrington is sick.”

As ludicrous as this picture seems, there are times when I act as if it were true. Only as we come to an increased understanding of God’s glory and sovereignty are we freed to move into a condition that I refer to as “mellow zeal.” Ultimately, God is sovereign. God is not only our Creator, but He also sustains everything by His powerful word. He is actively involved in the world today, accomplishing His eternal purposes. “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand…This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” (Isa. 14:24,26-27, cf 46:10)

God alone is worthy of glory and will not give His glory to another. “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.” (Isa. 48:11, cf 42:8) Deeper knowledge of God’s character leads to deeper conviction of these truths. This not only fuels our hunger for God’s glory because He alone is worthy, but it also intensifies our zeal because we see that our work is God’s. We are unshakeably confident that God will glorify His name — that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14, Isa. 11:9).

At the same time, meditation upon God’s sovereignty enables us to enter into His rest with increased depth and consistency. We are called to passionately pursue the work God has for us, but we affront Him if we take responsibility for things that are in His control, not ours. We are called to holiness and obedience, but we are not justified by them. We are called to a life that radiates the conviction that God is in control, and that we are justified by faith.

This means trust, rest, and hope set fully on the riches of God’s grace. Hence the mellow part of my phrase “mellow zeal.”

Our hope rises above circumstances because God’s grace transcends them. This hope empowers us to risk failure. Our security is not based on our performance, but on something that can never perish, spoil, or fade. Our hope frees us to rest.

The author of Hebrews cautions, “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:11) Entering God’s rest requires conscious choice and, in a paradoxical way, genuine effort. How do we exercise the choice and exert the effort?

First, we must constantly forsake alternative sources of hope. The more leadership responsibilities we accept, the more temptations there will be to trust in our own competence. We are misled into trusting in our level of activity, thorough planning, independence, charisma, and relational warmth. Unfortunately, the list goes on and on.

Second, we must constantly turn to the one Source of true hope. We must get to know God. We must not allow our goal to become service for God. Our goal must be hunger for God Himself. Personal and corporate prayer, worship, and study of Scripture are an indispensable part of this. We must foster, cherish, and delight in our relationship with God. We must take time to be still before Him, to revel in the riches of His grace.

This is the path to personal growth. This is the path to joy. This is the path to glorifying God.