Daily Encouragement: Year 2, Day 71

From Handbook to God’s Promises

GOD’S INVITATIONS TO ME

Rest—Remember It?
Read Matthew 11:28–30

Today, rest stops on our interstate highways are a sign of our times. We have to create places to slow down, stretch, nap, and relieve the tedium of endless concrete miles. Most importantly, we need to turn off the radio and talk. There are no crossroads on the interstate—places where people used to stop and check their progress. There are only multilevel interchanges designed to let us change direction without stopping. They get us where we want to go, but at a pace that is anything but restful.

Where travelers used to rest as they traveled—picnicking, napping, playing in a gurgling stream—today’s motorists use interstate rest stops more like pit stops at the Indy 500. The goal is to get in, get out, and get back on the road with as little resistance as possible. Rest is no longer an integral part of the process of travel. Now it is more like a necessary obstacle, something we have to do in order to reach our destination.

Unfortunately for many of us, the spiritual life has become like interstate travel. We push, push, push toward the goal and only stop to rest when absolutely necessary—if we rest at all.

At one point God’s chosen people found themselves in a similar situation, and He made a recommendation to them through the prophet Jeremiah. The people of Israel were no longer stopping at the crossroads of their faith, the ancient paths laid down by their forefathers. They were not refreshing themselves with the words of God’s covenant. As a result, God told them to stop at the crossroads and ask directions. He wanted them to find their way back to the ancient pathways where they would find rest for their souls (Jeremiah 6:16), to get off the faithless highways and byways that were leading them away from their God.

Jesus Christ quoted Jeremiah when speaking to some unrepentant cities in Israel. These cities were home to people on the fast track, people who had no spiritual peace. “Come to me,” our Lord said, “and you will find rest for your souls.” Could He be speaking to us today as well? Make His rest an integral part of your spiritual journey. Why not arrive at your ultimate destination refreshed?

God’s Promise: Your life in Him is a rest stop for your soul.