A Resting ride

I was listening today to a minister that the Lord has used many times in my life. He was sharing that the Hebrew concept of rest and the Greek concept of rest are vastly different. 

In the Greek concept, resting is lying still with little to no movement. An image comes to mind of lying in a hammock by a still pond with a cup of tea to calm the nerves. A pond mind you and not a stream or brook because that is not still. 

This is not the concept of resting as would have been understood by the Hebrew. Resting is more like everything running smoothly without needing you to interact. Coming home when there is no leaky faucet or overflowing trashcan. A car that doesn't have a clicking sound at 55 mph. A computer that boots up and doesn't need to get an update. Resting is everything working as intended and doesn't require your maintenance to continue. 

When God rests on the seventh day, he is not lying in repose. He is enjoying the goodness of it as all of nature operates smoothly as he intended. Resting is directly linked to goodness. When God spoke at the end of each day that "It was very good". It wasn't just a declaration of how it made him feel. It was a description of the nature of its existence. He made it very good. It functioned in a way that worked well with itself. Everything was in an order to be functioning smoothly. Each day he added and increased the complexity and yet He maintained the goodness of His creation. 

Thus on the seventh day, He could rest and enjoy the goodness of it. When God commands the Sabbath rest, He is not saying do nothing on Saturday or Sunday. He is asking us to enjoy His goodness toward us. We struggle each day with the endless little things that need our attention. The things that steal our time and our restfulness; The car that is broken down, the coworker that got on our nerves, the family disagreement, or some other distraction that requires us to work or tinker. Even now, when I consider the curse placed on Adam, that he would have to weed his garden. That is the curse where there is no rest. There is no rest for the wicked. 

When we find peace with God and follow Christ. He brings us to a continual place of rest. When we rely on Christ to live through us, we can rest in his power and grace. This rest is not one built on relaxing or laying down, but of walking and following. It is peace is like a river, and it is well with my soul.

So offer those struggles to the Lord and trust in Him. Rest in His power to do great things.