"Rest"

I heard him say it many times,

There’s no future in that bed,

In fact it was a common script,

That stuck inside my head.

Dad taught me if I was awake,

I should productive be,

The reason we were put on earth,

Was get work done, you see.

So it was bale that hay in summer,

And doctor all them steers,

Load and unload cattle trucks,

Moved thousands through the years.

And don’t forget the garden,

Where I hoed and pulled the weeds,

Learned when to take the harvest,

And when to plant the seeds.

It was starting those young horses,

And step by step it went,

Till we could get a saddle on,

And not too long we’re sent,

To go and ride through cattle,

And catch what needs a shot,

That young horse got a crash course,

And showed us what he’s got.

Dad said it, then he did it,

I am thankful that he gave,

What some call a work ethic,

‘Cause it was meant to save,

All the time that I might waste,

With restin’ or with play,

Taught me there was something wrong,

With folks who lived that way.

We took very few vacations,

Back then when I was young,

Dad didn’t work on Sunday,

At least till church was done.

He’d always say we’d have a time,

When from Thanksgiving Day,

All the way to New Years,

We’d hunt and eat and play.

But Dad got old and then he died,

And I was grown and gone,

But worked just like he taught me,

I’d done it for so long.

One day I had a heart attack,

And then another came,

And I became so dang depressed,

I’d say it was a shame.

My work was interrupted,

I was so tired, you see,

And wondered hard about my life,

And how I ought to be.

It took some real hard thinkin’,

And some hard prayin’, too,

To figure out what I’m about,

And what I ought to do.

And now I still am workin’,

But I take time to rest,

And find that I’m productive,

And carry much less stress.

If I find the pace that’s steady,

But stop and have some fun,

And let the Good Lord help me,

Instead of too much run.

And Jesus said if weary,

We come to Him for rest,

And that will make us fruitful,

With God’s highest and His best.

“So let us do our best to enter that rest…” (Hebrews 4:11, NLT)

The Bible tells us about a special rest planned for God’s people. Many think of heaven that way, but this passage is actually speaking of a way of life preceding our eternal rest. The Christian life is described as a “Sabbath rest” by the author of Hebrews. What does this mean exactly? First, it means that we can’t earn eternal life, it’s a gift that must be received by faith. Second, it means that our labor as disciples of Jesus is all about the Lord doing the work through us. We are active doers of the word, but His Spirit must energize us for the work to produce spiritual fruit. We are most effective when we are at rest.

Lord, teach us to enter the rest You have provided for us, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Keith Batcheller, used by permission. Thanks, Keith, and God bless you.