In Need of Rest
“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’ And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, ‘Arise and eat.’ And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, ‘Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.’ And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God."—1 Kings 19:4-7
Rest. We were made to rest. One of the surest signs of our humanity is our need for sleep and rest. The concept of rest was built into creation. God, on the seventh day, rested (Genesis 2:2). God didn’t need to rest, nor will He ever. God, as God, doesn’t get tired, or weary, or have any of the qualities of neediness or incompleteness that we experience in our humanity (Psalm 121:4). He rested to demonstrate to us what we need—we need rest. Rest and sleep are gifts from God (Psalm 127:2) and without proper rest and sleep our perspective becomes skewed.
In our passage for today, we have the great prophet Elijah fresh off of victory in one of the greatest displays of God’s power. There had been a drought in the land because the Israelites had turned away from God in worship of a false god called Baal, who was believed to be the god of thunder and rain. In one of the greatest confrontations in Scripture, Elijah took on 450 prophets of Baal. He challenged them to prepare a sacrifice on an altar and then call on their god and he would call on his. The God who answered by fire would, in fact, be God. They called on their gods, cut themselves in order to get his attention, but nothing happened. Hours went by and still nothing happened. Then it was Elijah’s turn. He rebuilt the altar, prepared the sacrifice, and then soaked it in water. And then he prayed for God to answer, and He did—bringing down such fire that not only was the sacrifice consumed, but the water was as well. The people acknowledged that the God of Elijah was, in fact, God. Elijah commanded the prophets to be killed and then prayed that it would rain, which it did. It was a remarkable victory. The Israelites had turned back to God, and rain came upon the land, but it was a short-lived victory for Elijah.
The king at the time was wicked king Ahab who had as his queen the equally wicked Jezebel. When Jezebel heard that Elijah had defeated the 450 prophets, she issued a death warrant on his life. When Elijah heard, he got up and ran for his life. He ran for a day and then came to a broom tree where he laid down and prayed that he might die. He was so weary that his perspective was jaded. He slept and then woke up to an angel touching him, telling him that he needed to get up and eat. He ate a good meal that the angel provided, drank some water, and then laid down and slept again. He was awakened a second time and told to “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” He did and then traveled forty days and forty nights to the place where he met with God.
The principle here is the need for appropriate nourishment and rest. When we do not rest, our perspectives get skewed, just as Elijah’s did. He had just seen one of the greatest displays of God’s power in history, with fire coming down from heaven and the 450 prophets of Baal defeated. It is remarkable that, after all that, one queen’s decree could rattle him to the point that he not only fled, but prayed that he might die. It was only when he got rest and refreshment that he was able to see things clearly.
We are fragile creatures made up of both body and spirit. And in one of the greatest mysteries of Scripture, we see that the two are intimately connected. When we don’t get rest, or don’t eat properly, we can get discouraged, distressed, or depressed quickly. Things that we encounter can cause us a great deal of angst and sorrow, when sometimes all we need is some sleep and a good meal and our hearts would be able to face the challenges in life with a much better perspective.
As believers, we are spirit creatures who have frail and failing bodies that house not only our spirits, but the Spirit of God as well. These bodies are so connected to our spirit that when our bodies aren’t functioning properly our spiritual life can get foggy. I would encourage you to get some rest, a proper amount, and eat better. How is your diet? What about exercise? Are you sleeping well? Do you have a theology of rest? Remember, while God doesn’t need rest, we do, and when we rest we are able to see Him in a greater capacity (see 1 Kings 19:9-18). May God give us rest so that we might be refreshed and renewed to worship and adore Him for who He is and what He has done. Amen.
Rest. We were made to rest. One of the surest signs of our humanity is our need for sleep and rest. The concept of rest was built into creation. God, on the seventh day, rested (Genesis 2:2). God didn’t need to rest, nor will He ever. God, as God, doesn’t get tired, or weary, or have any of the qualities of neediness or incompleteness that we experience in our humanity (Psalm 121:4). He rested to demonstrate to us what we need—we need rest. Rest and sleep are gifts from God (Psalm 127:2) and without proper rest and sleep our perspective becomes skewed.
In our passage for today, we have the great prophet Elijah fresh off of victory in one of the greatest displays of God’s power. There had been a drought in the land because the Israelites had turned away from God in worship of a false god called Baal, who was believed to be the god of thunder and rain. In one of the greatest confrontations in Scripture, Elijah took on 450 prophets of Baal. He challenged them to prepare a sacrifice on an altar and then call on their god and he would call on his. The God who answered by fire would, in fact, be God. They called on their gods, cut themselves in order to get his attention, but nothing happened. Hours went by and still nothing happened. Then it was Elijah’s turn. He rebuilt the altar, prepared the sacrifice, and then soaked it in water. And then he prayed for God to answer, and He did—bringing down such fire that not only was the sacrifice consumed, but the water was as well. The people acknowledged that the God of Elijah was, in fact, God. Elijah commanded the prophets to be killed and then prayed that it would rain, which it did. It was a remarkable victory. The Israelites had turned back to God, and rain came upon the land, but it was a short-lived victory for Elijah.
The king at the time was wicked king Ahab who had as his queen the equally wicked Jezebel. When Jezebel heard that Elijah had defeated the 450 prophets, she issued a death warrant on his life. When Elijah heard, he got up and ran for his life. He ran for a day and then came to a broom tree where he laid down and prayed that he might die. He was so weary that his perspective was jaded. He slept and then woke up to an angel touching him, telling him that he needed to get up and eat. He ate a good meal that the angel provided, drank some water, and then laid down and slept again. He was awakened a second time and told to “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” He did and then traveled forty days and forty nights to the place where he met with God.
The principle here is the need for appropriate nourishment and rest. When we do not rest, our perspectives get skewed, just as Elijah’s did. He had just seen one of the greatest displays of God’s power in history, with fire coming down from heaven and the 450 prophets of Baal defeated. It is remarkable that, after all that, one queen’s decree could rattle him to the point that he not only fled, but prayed that he might die. It was only when he got rest and refreshment that he was able to see things clearly.
We are fragile creatures made up of both body and spirit. And in one of the greatest mysteries of Scripture, we see that the two are intimately connected. When we don’t get rest, or don’t eat properly, we can get discouraged, distressed, or depressed quickly. Things that we encounter can cause us a great deal of angst and sorrow, when sometimes all we need is some sleep and a good meal and our hearts would be able to face the challenges in life with a much better perspective.
As believers, we are spirit creatures who have frail and failing bodies that house not only our spirits, but the Spirit of God as well. These bodies are so connected to our spirit that when our bodies aren’t functioning properly our spiritual life can get foggy. I would encourage you to get some rest, a proper amount, and eat better. How is your diet? What about exercise? Are you sleeping well? Do you have a theology of rest? Remember, while God doesn’t need rest, we do, and when we rest we are able to see Him in a greater capacity (see 1 Kings 19:9-18). May God give us rest so that we might be refreshed and renewed to worship and adore Him for who He is and what He has done. Amen.
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