Way of Rest - 1

Dearly beloved,
 Greetings in the Name of our Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ, who has given us a hope and a future. On behalf of The Witness Ministries, I send you this message, believing that the Lord will use it to accomplish His purposes in your life and in the lives of your loved ones. This is the first in a series of such messages. You are at liberty to forward them to as many as you believe will be blessed by them. In addition, you may print them out, make copies of them and distribute to as many as you believe will profit by them.

   THE WAY OF REST (1)
The world in which we live is ordinarily no place for rest. Men are preoccupied with "running from pillar to post" to "keep body and soul together". One would think that for the privileged few, who have risen above the so called poverty line, that in itself would eliminate stress. Instead the struggle to maintain the ground already gained (and possibly gain more) turns out to be as fierce as the first. Even when men attain a level of relative prosperity, the prevailing spirit of competition is bound to make them ‘rest-less’.
 As a result, men know little or nothing about rest. In the midst of the frustrations, worries and struggles of this world, we readily forget this counsel of Scripture: "It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so He giveth His beloved sleep" (Psa. 127:2). Yet we must know that there is more to rest than a good night’s sleep. We will explore the possibilities, one step at a time.
 The Way of Peace
There is a relationship between the "rest" we are dealing with and the peace that God gives. A man cannot be at rest if he is not at peace. The Bible, in painting a picture of the state of the unbelieving world, is emphatic: "And the way of peace they have not known (Rom. 3:17, Isa. 59:8). This peace can be experienced at three levels: with God (Rom.5:1), with fellow men (Rom. 12:18) and within the individual (Col 3:15). If we must be at rest, we must experience peace at these levels, and maintain it. Even then, there is more.
 Kinds of Rest
The goal of this classification is to differentiate, and then identify our area of emphasis. We will consider three major forms of rest: spiritual, physical and material rest.
 Spiritual Rest
This involves rest in the spirit and the soul of man. In the divine order of things, the soul cannot be perfected without the spirit, and vice versa. As a result, we have grouped "rest" at both levels under one head. "Rest in the spirit" is attained through the salvation experience and maintained through fellowship and obedience (Rom. 5:1, Gal. 5:22, Ac. 3:19). Once we are genuinely converted, its manifestation is automatic. This is guaranteed because we are assured of forgiveness of sins, removal of guilt, purging of the conscience, the joy of salvation and peace with God. However, the extent to which this is consolidated will depend on the measure of rest in the soul.
 "Rest in the soul" is progressively attained. It comes through the right kind of understanding, a renewal of the mind and the kind of choices we make. Since the soul (or mind) is the arena for the great battles that rage within a man, this level of rest is very crucial. (See Rom. 7:14-24, 8:5-7, 2 Cor. 7:5, Gal 5:17). This explains why we cannot talk about spiritual rest without focusing on the spirit and the soul.
 Physical Rest
This category of rest involves relaxation, recreation and sleep. This is the most basic level of rest, and we do not need to emphasise it. A wise man will not need to be told to strike a good balance between work and rest.
 Material Rest
This level of rest is linked to material prosperity. In this restricted sense, the Israelites entered into rest, seeing that they inherited the Promised Land (see Josh. 1:13-15, 23:1). But they fell short of entering the spiritual rest prepared for them (Heb.4:4-8). Another example of material rest can be seen in the experience of Issachar. The Children of Issachar submitted themselves to hard labour because they saw that "rest was good" and that the land "was pleasant" (Gen. 49:15).