By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

The End of War

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“The Lord gave them rest on every side…”
Joshua 21:44 New International Version

My wife loves her hammock.  She says there is nothing better than sitting in her hammock on a summer day with a good book.  What a great picture of rest!

When the Lord speaks about giving you and me rest, though, He is talking about something more than a summer nap.  For this world is full of sin and pain and suffering and war and violence and strife.  There is a weariness of the soul much greater than any weariness of the body.  The suffering of this world weighs down upon our hearts and makes us yearn for a rest that never quite comes to us.  Although we may seek a restful vacation from the stress of work, God’s rest is something much deeper.

It is the end to the great war that is going on.

Jesus promises us, “I will give you rest.”  In His sacrifice for you and me, in His great work on the cross, victory over this world’s great enemy is accomplished.  The devil is defeated, sin is paid for, and death is vanquished.  In Him there is a permanent rest that never ends, a peace that passes understanding, a joy that no sorrow can ever take away.

Whatever this world may throw at you, whatever burdens may weigh you down, there is rest in Jesus.  Upon Him you can lay down every care, every guilt, every fear.  Upon Him you can lay your weary head and find the end to your tiredness, your worry, your shame.  And one day the struggle will be all over, the war will be ended, and we shall rest in the Lord Jesus forever and ever.

“I need Thy presence every passing hour;
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.”

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church Colorado Springs, Colorado