When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve (Isaiah 14:3 ESV)
Isaiah spoke the words of the prophecy above to Israel when the Jews were in distress. Part of Israel had gone into captivity, and the fear of Babylonian conquest was palpable across Jerusalem. The Lord spoke to them and promised to give them rest from their pain, turmoil, and hard serve.
Can you see the meaning of spiritual rest in this verse? God gives us rest from something, meaning He brings an end to an activity or experience in our lives. He mentioned three distinct and related experiences here: pain, turmoil, and hard service. We enter divine rest when we cease from the anguish, upheavals, pain, and distresses that buffet us in this life.
Think of the many things troubling us today. We need rest from disease in our bodies. For some of us, the most pressing rest might be emotional and mental rest from worries, anxieties, fears, bitterness, and stresses of life. We also need rest from addictions or relationship problems that can be major stressors in our lives. As if these stressors are not enough, we still need rest from poverty or financial headaches.
The scripture says, “For we who have believed enter that rest”! (Hebrews 4:3 ESV). The Lord indeed brings us to rest in every aspect of our lives.
Read more: Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.
Meditate
What is the meaning of rest, as discussed above? How does this compare with Gen. 2:2, which says God rested on the 7th day?
Apply the Word
Hebrew 4:3 above gives us a key to the door of our rest: faith. We enter rest through faith in any area of our lives. Invest in your faith—press into the rest God has for you.
Pray
Thank the Lord for the blessing of rest that we have in Him.
