I wonder how many of us would write Psalm 23 the way King David did. As he composed these six beautiful verses that praise the qualities of the Lord, his Shepherd, he includes the phrase “He makes me lie down…”. How high would that side of the Shepherd’s work be on our list?
When we look at the ministry of our Good Shepherd, we find that rest is a high priority once again. Jesus famously said in Matthew 11, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
For many years in my life and ministry, I looked forward to the day when that would actually happen. I knew it would be true in heaven, and I assumed I’d get a taste of it someday in retirement. But in our modern world, with all the demands of life and the many activities and responsibilities that cry out for our time and attention, it seemed, at best, a distant hope.
But what if Jesus intends for that kind of life-giving rest to be part of our lives today?
My wife and I wrestled with that question during a 2011 sabbatical, when we discovered a growing movement among Christians to embrace the principles of Sabbath. Rather than a dusty relic of the Old Testament, we discovered that Sabbath is a wonderful gift God offers to all His people throughout time, and we decided to embrace it regularly. We have learned that Sabbath is a gift given to God’s people for our good and for His glory.
No spiritual practice has ever impacted our lives as powerfully as this one has. We became diligent pursuers of God’s gift of Sabbath, which I define as regular, intentional, contemplative, Christ-centered rest. We found it to be the most self-driven discipline we had ever practiced, as the delight of one Sabbath would make us eagerly look forward to the next one.
Intentional rest has radically changed our lives for the better. Much of my ministry on the Member Care Team for Converge International Ministries entails encouraging our colleagues to unwrap and embrace this wonderful gift.
Jesus meant it when He said, “You will find rest for your souls.” He can, even today, make us lie down. May we regularly come to Him to receive the life-giving rest and refreshment that He provides.
