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Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 12:8
D.L. MOODY
The worship of pleasure is slavery. (Solomon tried pleasure and found bitter disappointment, and down the ages has come the bitter cry, “All is vanity.”)
There is no rest in sin. The wicked know nothing about rest. The Scriptures tell us the wicked “are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest.” (Isaiah 57:20). Man, like the sea, has no rest. He has had no rest since Adam fell, and there is none for him until he returns to God again, and the light of Christ shines into his heart.
Rest cannot be found in the world but, thank God, the world cannot take it from the believing heart! Sin is the cause of all this unrest. It brought toil and labor and misery into the world.
ERWIN LUTZER
Think of how revolutionary it was when Jesus cried out to all who would listen, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest…you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28–29). Imagine the authority of Jesus—who else could make such a promise?
In the book of Hebrews, the author challenges his readers to ask whether they have actually entered into rest (Hebrews 4:1–4). In the next verses, he uses the Israelites who died in the wilderness as an example of those who refused to enter into the rest (which is described as the land of Canaan.) And then the author continues by pointing out how Christ is our rest.
Like I mentioned in a previous entry, whenever I hear of a Christian who has died, I extend comfort to the bereaved by quoting Revelation 14:13, “‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!’”
The ultimate rest is the everlasting rest of all the saints. Rest indeed!
PRAYER
Father, help me to cease striving with you; let me rest in the Lord.REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Have you ever felt the emptiness of sin like Solomon describes in Ecclesiastes 12:8? How does this compare to the deep and lasting rest found in God?
How is Jesus inviting you to find rest in Him?