Rest reminds us of our rest in Christ: Yet because the Fall did happen, sin has saturated our work. It weakens our bodies with illness and fatigue. We are born sinners and need not only physical rest for our bodies; we need spiritual rest as well. When we take the time to rest, we are reminded of Christ’s work for us on the cross. His perfect work on our behalf has been given to us. Rather than striving to do what we cannot do—obey the law—we now find our rest in Christ and in his work for us. “For we who have believed enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:3). Christ has purchased for us spiritual rest.

Confession: I am a list keeper. I make lists at the start of the day, and throughout the day I check off the items one by one. I tend not to stop until everything is finished on the list. I guess I see rest as the reward for finishing all my tasks. The problem is, rarely is everything completed at the end of the day.

We all struggle with taking the time to rest as evidenced by the high numbers of people treated for stress-related illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, depression, and anxiety. In fact, an estimated 75% of doctor’s visits are for such stress related illnesses. A Gallup Poll revealed that 40% of adults get less than the recommended amount of sleep each night.[1]

Doctors encourage us to rest from our work and get a solid eight hours of sleep. They offer many suggestions on how to relax our body and mind. They encourage healthy habits that keep our bodies and minds strong. These are all good things. We should rest our bodies and take care of them. After all, God created us, and we should steward the gift of our bodies and health well. But there are other reasons we should rest. In fact, God’s Word shows us that rest is a good thing.

Four Reasons Rest is a Good Thing

1. Rest is a pre-Fall gift from God: When God created the world, He did so in six days and on the seventh, he rested. “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2-3). We often think of rest as something that came with the Fall, as a result of our fallen and frail human bodies. But rest is a pre-fall gift from God. It is for our good and for His glory. We were created as God’s image bearers, and when we rest, we image our Maker.
2. Rest reminds us of our rest in Christ: Yet because the Fall did happen, sin has saturated our work. It weakens our bodies with illness and fatigue. We are born sinners and need not only physical rest for our bodies; we need spiritual rest as well. When we take the time to rest, we are reminded of Christ’s work for us on the cross. His perfect work on our behalf has been given to us. Rather than striving to do what we cannot do—obey the law—we now find our rest in Christ and in his work for us. “For we who have believed enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:3). Christ has purchased for us spiritual rest.

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