By Pastor Don Schatz

The Rest of the Promise

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud Link.

“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”
Isaiah 32:18 New International Version

God rested. He gave the concept of rest, a day of rest, to humankind. That is a wonderful gift. It is God’s own idea of the best way to live. Now, Sabbath rest was about resting in the grace of the Lord. The cessation of “work” was to free one to rest by focusing fully on the Lord, his Word, his Way, his grace. Turn the gift into a must and one changes the character of rest. Indeed, one makes it a caricature.

A child’s spontaneous time of rest following an afternoon of badminton is not the worst image we could have. We might not be playing much badminton this month, but we are likely gearing up for the “way-too-busy” crush and rush of the holiday season. Perhaps you are already fully engaged. There is an irony to the American pace of this time of year.  We can be so absorbed with our frenetic observing that we don’t see the point of it all.

“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”   Peaceful dwelling place. Check. Secure home. Check. Undisturbed place of rest. Ah–I’ll get back to you on that. Those three elements of God’s promise flow from one another. How is it that one can embrace the first two promises and miss out on the rest of the promise?

We rest in God’s grace. We rest in the Father’s arms. We rest in the love of Christ. We rest in the deep, calming breath of the Holy Spirit. We rest in the promise, even the promise of rest. As for the rest of the story–well we will each write that, won’t we? Shalom.

Copyright, Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado