Rest is somewhat elusive for me. I’m not prone to resting nor do I find it all that productive. Sure I get tired and I sit down, but even then I’m usually “doing” something whether it’s reading, writing, watching YouTube or having a conversation. But does all this constitute rest?

 “Therefore…”

Psalm 16 has an interesting expression of rest. “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope” (verse 9). Why is the psalmist, in this case, David, feeling a sense of rest and what does this word mean?

 Answering the second first will reveal as one scours a reliable concordance or Bible software program that rest means to become quiet, to abide or dwell, to settle or even to fix. Also, if you scan my blog archive you’ll find I’ve written on or around this subject many times. But Psalm 16 has a slightly different ring to it when answering the first question. Verse 1 states, “preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.” Verse 8 says, “I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

 Seeing More Clearly

Ah ha, I’m seeing yet another theme to rest I had not seen before; that is, I can have a sense of rest in my soul because I have placed my trust in Jesus. No matter if I am busy or sitting quietly, I can still have a sense of rest in the depths of my soul because I know my ultimate destiny is in Heaven.

 This doesn’t mean I will all of the sudden jettison away the importance of resting my body and mind, those remain important, but now I have a fuller understanding of rest; that a fully developed sense of rest includes ceasing or quieting from physical and mental labor, but it is not complete until one has placed their trust in Christ.

 I’m tired now—see ya later!