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What does the Bible say about Rest? – Balancing Work and Rest

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Come to Me, All Who Are Weary

Matthew 11:28-29 — “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

The invitation to “come” is available to all. The promise is that He will give you rest. It is the same type of promise Jesus made when He said He is the bread of life and also living water. Jesus promises rest. Not physical rest. He Himself rested physically very little. But a rest from toiling on our own to achieve the unachievable. He gives us what we are longing for.

God never promises total freedom. There is a yoke. And yet His yoke is not heavy.

Reflect — Why are these words used to describe this yoke? How is it easy and light?

Application — If you are weary in this world, you need to come to Jesus. If you are striving to accomplish things with your own power, you need to come to Jesus. If you are trying to be good enough to be accepted by Him or by others, you need to come to Jesus. If you are stressed and your thoughts are in turmoil, then you need to come to Jesus. He is a shepherd who leads us to the green grass and quiet waters.

— From our Bible study on Matthew 11:20-30

The Sabbath Was Made for Man

Matthew 12:8 — “For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

The Sabbath was made for man. This day was not meant as a yoke of bondage where people would sneak around scared of breaking one of the thousands of rules on this day. Rabbis had added many detailed rules to the ones in the Old Testament, including how many steps you could take on the Sabbath and forbidding spitting on dirt because when the dirt turned to mud, that is work.

Jesus reminded the people that the purpose of this day was to rest from their work and spend time learning about and worshiping God as a family and country. How could a person ever rest if he had to count every step he took during the day, weigh out everything he carried to make sure it wasn’t too heavy, and look before spitting? These kinds of rules crush people and turn them off from following God. They create a burden too big to carry.

It was supposed to be a day of rest. Knowing they weren’t supposed to work in the fields, gather grain, or plow, the people could truly rest. They could put aside all of their worries for one day and just enjoy each other and the Lord. God’s commands are not burdensome, but ours very well could be.

Application — Spend some time evaluating your life and your church and consider if you have slipped into legalism. Are you rigidly following any man-made traditions?

— From our Bible study on Matthew 12:1-21

Come Away and Rest a While

Mark 6:31 — “And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.'”

Jesus recognized they needed some time to recharge and be refreshed so He asked them to go to a secluded place and rest. Resting is a Scriptural concept. It is also taught in the Old Testament practice of keeping the Sabbath. Our bodies are not made to go all the time either physically or mentally. Sometimes we need to have a rest. It is not good to push ourselves too far. Physically, that can cause health issues and spiritually it can cause burnout. Unfortunately, many Christian workers (missionaries and pastors) end up leaving the ministry because of being burnt out. Ministers are willing to work so they are put to work. Without enough time to recharge their physical and spiritual batteries, there is danger of burnout.

Application — If you are in ministry, evaluate whether you take adequate time for retreat or rest. You may consider asking a wise mentor for their opinion. Another application is to take initiative to help ensure that Christian workers around us get some time to rest. How? For example, you could offer to babysit to give parents a break. A husband could offer to watch the kids while his wife has some time to go out, and vice-versa. Or you could make a meal and take it to a pastor or missionary.

At the same time, we should remember there is a balance. While some rest is good, too much rest could be laziness. The disciples were not always resting. In fact, right before this they had been out on a preaching tour. The Sabbath rest only comes after a week of hard work.

Reflect — Is it OK to have some time to ourselves for rest or is that being lazy when there is work to be done?

— From our Bible study on Mark 6:30-44

Striving to Enter That Rest

Hebrews 4:9-11 — “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

The “rest” here is another word for eternal life. Eternal life will be completely realized after this life. This life is filled with toil, temptations, persecutions, suffering, pain, and difficulties. One day, “beyond the river” as some songs put it, we will have rest in God’s presence free from all of these earthly troubles. At the same time, eternal life is not only for after we die. Although this rest will not be fully realized until after this life, we can taste some parts of it now including the joy and peace that God supernaturally brings into our lives after trusting in Him.

Imagine that you need to prepare for an exam. You still have one book to read and your exam is the next day. Can you rest? I wouldn’t be able to. Imagine that you have an important project due at work in just several days and you haven’t even started it yet. Can you rest? I wouldn’t be able to. To really be able to rest well in this life we have to finish the urgent things so that our mind can rest easy. If we still have stuff left to do, we won’t be able to rest. On the same note, we cannot enter our permanent rest with Christ until our work here on earth is done.

Many tombstones in the United States say R.I.P. This means “Rest In Peace.” Who can rest in peace? In reality although this is the wish of many, only those who believed in God while still alive will actually rest in peace.

God has finished all His work of creation already. The rest that God took after creation was certainly not needed. He was not tired from His work. Rather it showed the fact that He had completed the job. By resting, He established a precedent for us that, after the job is completed, we can also have rest like He did.

Application — We should be diligent to enter into that rest and not fall short. We must regularly evaluate our spiritual position. We must hold fast to God’s Word in faith. What specific action do you need to take this week to apply what we have learned today?

— From our Bible study on Hebrews 4:1-10

Observe the Sabbath Day

Deuteronomy 5:12-14 — “Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work.”

The model for the Sabbath day stretches back to the week of Creation when God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. He did not do this because He was tired but to give us a model to follow. Our lives should not be consumed by our careers. God wanted His people to have a relationship with Him. As we all know, quality time is an integral part of every good relationship.

In addition to the need for a time to worship and meditate on God, we also need a time to rest. God did not create us to be busy all the time. Sometimes we need to do what Mary did. She put aside distractions and rested at the feet of Jesus to learn from Him.

Application — When do you take time to rest and worship? Do you regularly find time to sit at the feet of Jesus without distraction? Is it wrong to work on Sunday? Why or why not?

— From our Bible study on Deuteronomy 5

Rest as Trust, Not Striving

Throughout Israel’s time in the wilderness, God was their leader. He told them when to go, where to go, and how long to stay.

Reflect — Do you think it would be easy or difficult to wait for instructions from God at every stage of the journey? Why?

On the one hand, it seems easy to simply follow God’s instructions. It takes all the decision-making out of one’s control. You simply wait for God’s instruction. He says, “Go,” and you get up and go. However, that is not as easy as one might think. The Israelites did not know if they would have to stay in a location for a day or months (or longer). It would be impossible to make any kind of long-term plans. Every day they would go to bed not knowing if they would have to move the next day. That could be stressful.

That lifestyle forced them to depend on God. They had to trust in His goodness and timing. It was a very practical way to practice the instruction given in Proverbs 3:5-6.

Proverbs 3:5-6 — “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

God was faithful. He did not leave them hanging. At the appropriate time, He led them to the next place. He is always the good shepherd, leading His sheep.

Application — Perhaps you feel like the Israelites. You may be in a situation where you cannot make long-term plans and need to depend day-by-day on His leading. That can be difficult. Yet it is also an opportunity to learn to trust Him in a deeper and more personal way than ever before. Ask Him to help you rest in His plan, to cease striving, and know that He is God.

— From our Bible study on Deuteronomy 1:19-2:23

I Lie Down and Sleep

Psalm 3:5 — “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.”

David lived a good part of his life on the run, at times hiding out from enemies and at times sheltering in areas of strong defense. But although David did find refuge in some physical regions, here he says that his ultimate refuge is in the Lord. None of these physical locations could provide perfect protection. Any of them could be defeated. Even in the most defensible locations, he would have to keep a watch (or not be able to sleep well), knowing that there were spies and enemies around.

The real reason for his safety, even for his ability to sleep well at night, was the Lord’s protection. David saying “I take refuge in you” is his expression of faith that the Lord is sovereign and omnipresent, that the Lord had a good plan for him, and that he didn’t trust in anything else.

Application — For most of us, our lives are not anything like David’s was. We are not being chased by our enemies. So in a world where things seem fairly safe, how can we relate to this idea of “refuge?” In what ways is God a refuge for us? Who might we need to be saved and delivered from?

— From our Bible study on Psalm 7

Rest From Their Labors

Revelation 14:13 — “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: 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 second half of the tribulation will be a time when believers are martyred in huge numbers. Reaping a harvest in the Bible is generally a good thing. And this first harvest seems to be a harvest of believers. Believers who hear this message should be encouraged. While it may appear to them that they are under the power and dominion of the evil one, God is sovereign.

Death for believers at that time will not be a curse. It will be a blessing, just as when a harvest of good crops is brought in.

Application — Looking at persecution in the short term can be disheartening. It may even discourage believers from sharing their faith because of fear of the consequences. But when we look at it from God’s perspective, we see that to Him martyrdom of saints is precious. Let us strive to look beyond the short-term persecution and to the heavenly reward for being faithful.

— From our Bible study on Revelation 14:6-20

Freedom From Religious Rituals

Colossians 2:16 — “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.”

Colossians 2:21 — “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch.”

Man-made religion is often about living up to people’s standards which they seek to impose on others. It is wearisome and burdening.

Colossians 2:17 — “The substance belongs to Christ.”

Imagine that you meet a person’s shadow before you meet the person. Would you just look at his shadow? The shadow shows that the person is real. But the shadow is not the focal point. Instead, it points us to the person behind the shadow. Don’t focus on the shadow. Focus on the real thing. Christ! Our faith is not about rules. It is not about commands. It is not about rituals or festivals.

— From our Bible study on Colossians 2:16-23, Relationship Not Ritual

Not Yet Time to Rest

Joshua 13:1 — “Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, ‘You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.'”

Joshua was old and advanced in years. But his work for the Lord had not yet ended. God still had more for him to do before it was time to take him home. Joshua worked for the Lord until the very end of his life.

In the world today, many people like to retire. For many, retirement is a time in their life when they can rest from all of their labors and take it easy. Twilight years of their life are spent traveling, playing bingo or mahjong, watching television, gardening, or collecting seashells.

Believers should have a different mentality. Recently someone asked me about my retirement plans. I told them that I will never retire from doing the Lord’s work. Our life is short and we only have this one chance on the earth to serve the Lord. It would be foolhardy to start resting before the proper time, which is when we enter into the final rest God has prepared for us.

John 9:4 – We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

Rest is a Biblical concept. We all need to rest from time to time. But the rest assumes that first there was work. We were created to work. Adam and Eve were told to tend cultivate the Garden of Eden before they sinned. There will be a final rest. But for now, we are called to work for God while we still can. We have on life on this earth so let’s not waste it.

Are you doing the works of God? Is what you are doing really going to make a difference for God? When you are dead I can guarantee you won’t wish you did less work for God. It is almost sure you will wish you had done more while you had the chance.

You can make a goal to do something for God everyday. Maybe one day it is to give a Bible to your friend. Another day it is to share the gospel with a colleague. Another day it is to send a message and encourage another believer. Another day it is meet with a brother and share something you learned in your quiet time, etc. Don’t waste your life! No one dies and wished they spent more time at the office.

In the end, our life is not about our jobs, although it is important to do a good job. In the end, our life isn’t about our friends, although it is important to be a good friend. In the end, our life isn’t about our family, although it is important to be a good family member. In the end, our life is about the difference we made for God at our job, with our friends, to our families, and to strangers. Remember this and decide to make the most of your time because it is limited!

— From our Bible study on Joshua 11-19

Joshua 21:44-45 — “And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”

The key figure in this passage is the Lord. He gave them the land as He had sworn. He gave them rest on every side. He gave their enemies into their hands. He fulfilled every one of His good promises to them. Not even one failed.

Reflect — What can we learn about the Lord from this? What lessons can we see here that still apply to our lives today?

— From our Bible study on Joshua 20-21

We hope you enjoyed this Bible study on rest. May God use His Word to speak into your life and give you strength to follow it. Please take some time to reflect on the questions below and consider leaving a comment with your key takeaway or insight.

Reflection Questions

• Is it OK to have some time to ourselves for rest or is that being lazy when there is work to be done?
• When is rest necessary? When does a desire to rest become laziness?
• What is the right balance between work and rest?
• What specific action do you need to take this week to apply what we have learned about rest?
• When do you take time to rest and worship? Do you regularly find time to sit at the feet of Jesus without distraction?
• What do you look forward to about the final rest that is awaiting God’s children?