The best rest is in Christ

Last evening I made the mistake of looking at a book about color and design before I went to bed. It filled me with ideas and I could not sleep with all that going on in my head. I’d also discovered earlier that a company had take money from me without my knowledge. The strategy needed to get a refund was also in my mind. Not being able to sleep is abnormal as I usually am out as soon as my head hits the pillow. I did think of this verse:

It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. (Psalm 127:2)

The verse didn’t help because I could not stop “eating the bread” with anxiety about the rip-off and excitement about the designs and making plans for my quilt fabric stash.

This morning I did a search for “rest” and discovered this word is used more than 350 times in the Bible. One of the prophets used it to describe the Messiah:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord…. In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. (Isaiah 11:1–2; 10)

I cannot imagine Jesus being kept awake by important things, never mind the relative trivia that occupied my thoughts. As I thought of Him, I considered what He wanted from me. Certainly, sleep would come if I was not worried about the refund due me. I tried to think biblically about the power of God to take care of that issue, only to relate to these words:

Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ (Jeremiah 6:16)

I wanted a solution. That was the problem. I could not just give it to the Lord. However, He has more to say about that, something that evaded me in the middle of the night and rebukes me this morning — as well as granting a solution for not sleeping well…

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28–29)

PRAY: Jesus, my body is paying the price of trying to carry a burden too heavy for me and for trying to design something when I needed to put everything aside and rest. Sometimes I feel like a spoiled child that keeps saying, ‘I can do it myself’ instead of letting You take care of all things. I hear Your voice in the words of the psalmist: "Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you." (Psalm 116:7)