Christ as our rest

Waking up at 5 every morning to study yields massive sleep deprivation. I did not realize the impact of my lack of sleep until I came home for spring break completely burnt out. But sleep is not the only thing I’ve been depriving myself of lately. Similar to my oblivion of exhaustion, I had had no sense of my Jesus-deprivation until I realized that I could not remember the last time I had opened my Bible. I could no longer recall the last time I had been to a weekly CSOC Bible study or ministry series and actually stayed for the entire time. I put Jesus on the backburner, behind homework, work, social life, you name it. In my state of stress and sleepiness, however, the Bible should have been the first thing I turned to.

God as My TempurPedic Mattress Pad

In Matthew 11:28, Jesus says: “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Although physically and mentally exhausted, the Lord never fails to present us with spiritual rest. He provides us with His peace—the kind of peace that passes all understanding. A state of sleep-starvation is normally coupled with a long list of to-dos, but God gives us relief from our burdens, too! He simply wants us to come to Him. He allows us to cast our cares and anxieties on Him because He cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7). Therefore, when sleep-walking to a test in your 8 am class, always remember that the Lord’s presence will go with you, and He will give you rest (Exo. 33:14). We need to view all our situations as opportunities to come to the Lord and experience Him. It’s as if God is saying, “Are you tired? Worn out?… Come to me. Get away with me and recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest… I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (cf. Matt. 11:28-30).

Pancakes with a Side of the Word

It is unfortunate to admit that my habit of starting the day off with God was unintentionally abandoned for a good part of this semester. But the Lord should be the first thing in our day. As the Psalmist said “O Jehovah, in the morning You will hear my voice; in the morning I will set forth my words in order to You” (5:3). What better way to start the day than by speaking to the Lord?

The Lord is now part of my breakfast, for “man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). By “eating” the Bible, praying over His Word each morning, we are able to “put on the full armor of God,” so that when faced with daily hardships and evils, we “may be able to stand our ground” (Eph. 6:13). Every day is a battle against the devil, but by “receiving the word by means of all prayer and petition” we are equipped to triumph against evil in the name of the Lord.

Fixing our Eyes on Jesus

Finally, it is easy to get pumped up with the Lord each morning, but it is just as easy to run out of Godly steam in the afternoon. Each day starts out fresh, but as it wears on, new challenges begin to build up. An unexpected pop quiz can induce fear and panic that in turn squash your Godly peace and distract your eyes from viewing the Lord. Hebrews 12:1-2 says that “therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” As Peter says in 1 Peter 4:12-13, “… do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” Therefore, walk in the Holy Spirit and trust in the Lord, and He will make straight your paths.

We should not allow the requirements and hardships of our day to remove us from our Lord. Instead we should use them as a motivation to find Him, in His Word or through prayer. The more we pursue the Lord in the midst of life’s struggles, the more we will grow in Him and triumph in His name.

By: E. Bowman

CSOC
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