And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their ancestors; not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.
The rest Israel received was no doubt very different than the one promised to us (unless you are out conquering lands and slaughtering people. If you are, we need to talk.) But these verses in Joshua closely resemble someone else's promise of rest. Jesus. The whole "Son of God" guy.
"Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for my yoke is easy and my burden light."
I believe that over the last few years, the Lord has taught me- and given me- an amazing appreciation for rest. Not only that, He's taught me how to rest. Not like "rub my feet and bring me a pina colada" type of rest (though let's be honest, I sure don't mind that either) but a "find peace and rest in ME" sort of rest. It's not only a blessing but a promise to those who draw near to Christ. And it's something woefully missing from so many American churches.
Maybe it's a symptom of this generation, or maybe it's a DC thing, but there seems to be a competition in so many of the Christian communities that I've been a part of toward being "the busiest" or "the most stressed out" or the most "totally overwhelmed by all the things going on in my life." Don't get me wrong, I'm not mocking how stressed we all think we are (ok, maybe a little) and I'm certainly not saying I've got it all figured out and that I don't get stressed at times. But I can't help but wonder how many of us are the busy Marthas in the kitchen, totally missing out on the blessing of being a Mary, just resting at the Lord's feet, soaking it all- and Him- in. And surely, SURELY, if the Son of God didn't get stressed out by all HE had to accomplish (that whole salvation thing) we can have a better perspective on our own lives, right?
But then what do we do about it? How do we change it? How do we learn to rest? (Even this stresses us out. We want to do, do, do!) I think we have to go back to the beginning. Asking God to give us a right perspective on our place in this world. When we start to learn that we are mere tools to be used by Him, we also start to understand that the world doesn't revolve, or stop revolving, by our strength or actions, by what we accomplish or don't. This is not to say that the things we do- or don't do- aren't important, it's to say that it's not really up to us in the first place. The LORD is in control. And in that, there is rest.
I am so thankful that the Lord has given me this time of good rest these last few years, especially as I know that as kids come and family grows, things will probably be stressful. But no matter what, my prayer will be that the Lord will continue to give me rest on all sides, that I might truly press hard into Him and learn to rest because I trust that He will accomplish His good works.
He is good and in that I will rest.
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