Laboring to enter the place of rest

A clergyman walking down a country lane and sees a young farmer struggling to load hay back onto a cart after it had fallen off.

“You look hot, my son,” said the cleric. “Why don’t you rest a moment, and I’ll give you a hand.”

“No thanks,” said the young man. “My father wouldn’t like it.”

“Don’t be silly,” the minister said, “everyone is entitled to a break. Come and have a drink of water.”

Again the young man protested that his father would be upset.

Losing his patience, the clergyman said, “Your father must be a real slave driver. Tell me where I can find him and I’ll give him a piece of my mind!”

“Well,” replied the young farmer, “he’s under the load of hay.”

Many people are stuck under personal loads of hay. Some people went and found the hay to pile on themselves, while others got a load of hay dumped on them due to circumstances beyond their control. The question is, how do we get to the place in our lives where we can finally be at rest?

Hebrews 4:11 says, “Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest of God, to know and experience it for ourselves.” There is a place of rest that a Christian can and should experience, and it has nothing to do with our natural work.

In fact, it is possible to be out on a boat in the middle of the ocean, in a swimsuit, on vacation, doing absolutely nothing, and to be so uneasy and agitated inside that you can’t enjoy one minute of it. On the other hand, you can be carrying 400 pounds of cement up and down ladders in the hot sun, and be at complete peace inside.

This rest that the Bible refers to has nothing to do with your present circumstances, and everything to do with your relationship with the Creator. Think of a prison inmate waiting on death row — he has no job, no bills, no possessions to bog him down, and he gets free living quarters, three meals a day and free clothes. Yet he is face to face with his own mortality every minute of the day until his sentence is finalized.

The common misconception people have about life is their belief that a change in circumstances will solve this issue of being at rest. The fact is, if we don’t align things in our heart to the Word of God, then it won’t make a difference where we are in this planet — our problem of finding rest will still be there.

It is so plain to see in the Word that to have rest, we have to come to Jesus when we are burdened and heavy laden, and at that time we will have rest. Some people work 80 hours a week, thinking that having nice things and plenty of money for the bills will enable them to rest at night, when all the while their jobs have become an enabler for them to have a false sense of rest.

When I started an audio/ video company several years ago, I stepped out of the will of God for my life. I worked from sunrise to sunrise to get the company up and running. I had no peace. I asked God to bless the company, and He did, but He blessed it in spite of my disobedience to His will. I had no rest for seven months, and the day that I finally had rest again was when I turned in my resignation to the corporation (which consisted of me and 2 other people!).

It is work to get to a place of rest in our lives, but it has nothing to do with physical labor. The rest that the Lord wants us to enter is in our spirits. Changes on the outside always start from within. The work is studying God’s Word, and applying the changes to our personal character.

What good would it do to have a billion dollars, be CEO of a worldwide corporation, have a 50,000-square-foot home, and have literally anything you wanted — except a peaceful night’s sleep? There is a place of rest reserved for the man or woman or child who will be diligent to follow the voice of God, and let the Bible influence them so deeply that it changes their character. The labor is the study of scriptures, and it makes your sleep so sweet.

Jesse Miller is youth pastor at Family Christian Center in Palmer, and may be reached at silverhonda84@hotmail.com.