Summary of Finding Rest
Passage – Joshua 23:1
Preamble
Brent tells us that he set a goal that he would read the Bible in 66 days. While doing his reading challenge he stumbled across Joshua 23:1, where it says, “…God gave them rest.”
The year is full, and then we rest
For most of the year, why does rest seem so elusive for so many of us? Many of us will easily understand Lam 5:5, “…we find no rest.”
How to know when you are too busy
- Being aimless, jumping from one task to another
- Overspending on items, looking for a quick thrill and quick excitement.
- Getting bitter and being short with people. Having no time for grace.
- Pornography, instead of seeking and cultivating real intimacy. No time for relationships.
- Escapism through movies, TV, internet, Facebook, because it is faster and easier than experiencing real life situations.
Relaxing isn’t resting
Rest your body. Take a nap. We achieve relaxation when we slow our body down. Exodus 34:21. Even during Israel’s plowing season — an extremely busy time — they were commanded to rest. Brent points out how an electrical outage forces us to rest in our suburban centres. God was telling his people that they must rest no matter what. Psalm 62:1, “my soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from him.”
Relaxing physically vs. Resting and energizing our soul
Relaxing only brings on a physical recovery, yet we will still have a soul that is stressed and weak. Our relationship with God will be in a bad state. What is important to realize is that only God can give us spiritual rest. A relationship with him will create a spiritual rest.
The importance of resting as a group
Regularly getting together with our spiritual community aids in our Sabbath experience.
Summary:
We can Relax all we want, but without reclining in the presence of Jesus we will not experience rest.
This is true resting: take a break from busy life, slow it down, and build our relationship with God.
Related Link:
Mark Buchanan, The Rest of God.
About the Speaker
Brent is the lead pastor here at SouthRidge. He and his wife Pam were part of the original church plant.