On Friday, May 28, we recorded a video with licensed counsellor, executive coach, mental health guru, and overwhelmingly likable guy Jim Urban. If you have not watched the video, and you have to choose between watching it and finishing reading this, I would advise you to click here. It is a better use of your time.
“There’s no rest for the weary,” someone once said. I do not know who said it first and neither does Google, apparently. I was surprised to find the first several search results claiming that the saying was taken from the phrase: “There is no peace for the wicked.” In fact, dictionary.com put it this way: “The biblical passage made its way into secular metaphorical contexts by the early 1700s, taking on a humorous tone by the 1800s and conveying that work and responsibilities never cease, originally with a tongue-in-cheek implication that it’s due to their sinful (lazy) ways” (Definition of no rest for the weary, 2020).
The biblical context is Isaiah 57:21, where God is recorded as saying, “There is no peace...to the wicked” (KJV). As hard as it may be to admit, some of us struggle to find rest or feel ‘rested’ because we are living out Isaiah 57:21. There is no peace, and where there is no peace, there can be no rest. No amount of physical rest can keep pace with spiritual exhaustion. I hope that sentence isn’t passed over too quickly, because I think it reaches the heart of the issue.
At the moment of salvation, Scripture tells us that our spirit is brought to life. The Holy Spirit takes up residence and we are new creations. We receive the Spirit of adoption and are engrafted into the family of God. There is the new man to put on and the old man to put off. Sin, the old taskmaster, is stripped of its power and we are empowered to choose whom we will serve. Thus begins the lifelong journey of being conformed to the image of Christ. (Read Ephesians 1 and 2 for an amazing picture of the work done for and in us at salvation.)
This is exciting and new and there are Christians who tuck the proverbial ‘ball’ and run straight on to glory with it. Others, including myself, have fumbled this ball more times than we would care to admit. And maybe, like me, you have attempted to punt the ball away entirely. Unlike most, my foray into rebellion, drugs, and the like, occurred long after my salvation. Sin had no power; I chose to serve it anyway. I was “high and surrendering to gravity and the unknown” (Howerdel, B., Keenan, M., Lenchantin, P., & Van Leeuwen, T., 2003). This created enormous cognitive dissonance in my heart and mind.
In Romans 7, we see Paul lamenting the internal strife that can exist in the life of a Christian. I normally use the King James Version, but I like the way that the EasyEnglish Bible puts verse 15, “I do not understand what I do. I do not do the things that I want to do. Instead, I do the things that I hate” (2019). Paul’s experience here is understood by nearly every Christian. But this struggle is not the same as if Paul had said, “I do not care what I do. I want to do the things I should hate. I don’t care about what I should be doing.” That is where I found myself, though. I reached the point where I wanted nothing to do with God.
Because of this, my internal struggle moved past a battle with self and into a full on war against the Holy Spirit living inside of me. I chased happiness and pleasure wherever it could be found. I chased relaxation. I self-medicated and was willing to sink to great depths if it would “give me one more medicated peaceful moment” (Howerdel, B. & Keenan, M., 2000). But even medicated, there was no peace. Apparently, no drug-induced high can keep pace with spiritual exhaustion, either. God did not let me go, and in the end, I am thankful that I could not fight the war I had made (Armstrong, A., & Graves, R., 2020).
What I discovered is that a messy private life brings disharmony. If you are a Christian, and rest is alluding you, perhaps your relationship with Christ is in need of upkeep. Maybe an honest assessment of your life will uncover the truth that you are harboring sinful habits. In a quiet moment of reflection, you may find yourself at war with the Creator Himself. And if we war against the One Who said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, KJV), we cannot be surprised when our rest is lacking.
References:
Armstrong, A., & Graves, R. (2020). The War We Made [Recorded by Red]. On Declaration. Red Entertainment.
Definition of no rest for the weary. (2020). Dictionary.Com. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/no-rest-for-the-weary
EasyEnglish Bible. (2019). MissionAssist - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Howerdel, B. & Keenan, M. (2000). Orestes [Recorded by A Perfect Circle]. On Mer de Noms. Virgin Records.
Howerdel, B., Keenan, M., Lenchantin, P., & Van Leeuwen, T. (2003). Gravity [Recorded by A Perfect Circle]. On The Thirteenth Step. Virgin Records.
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