Seeking Rest: God’s Design

In all of the sermons that I’ve heard about rest, I’ve learned that people are quick to dismiss the importance of work, only focusing on the idea of Sabbath and taking time to rest. After acknowledging that our culture in America is centered around how many hours you work a week and how far you can push yourself without collapsing, they propose the countercultural idea of Jesus and how He commands us to find rest in Him. While this is great, and I wholeheartedly agree that we need to put our relationship with Jesus above the world around us, I feel as if people are too quick in their dismissal of work.

Firstly, work is something that we can’t escape. Even if you were to remove yourself from modernity and live in the wild, you would still be making a shelter, scavenging for food and protecting yourself from the elements. Even if you don’t find yourself in a cubicle from 9-5, you will find yourself working in some manner. So, pretending that you can escape from that idea of work is foolish, and refusing to address a piece of our life that is so necessary seems absurd.

In addition, the idea of work is in no way harmful on its own. While it can have a negative connotation in the way that we have come to know it, the Bible never pins it as a sin. As a matter of fact, at its core, it is an idea that God has created for good. So before I spend this series focusing on how we can seek rest, I want to look at God’s original design for work, and see how it has become tainted to what we see it as now.

Work in Creation

If you look in the very beginning of Genesis, you’ll notice that the very first verb used is “created”, and it refers to God making both heaven and earth. Throughout the first chapter, this continues as He makes all that we see today, in an act we commonly refer to as “Creation”. The very first thing that we learn is that God worked to create, calling everything that He made “good” or “very good”. He is the first one to technically work, to create a product that served a purpose.

Once the Lord created the first man, Adam, He gave Adam a purpose: “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:15). Adam was given a command by God to do His work, to take care of the things that God has created. Adam didn’t do this to get a paycheck, or to meet some sort of requirement, but simply because He desired to take care of what God had so graciously provided. From the beginning, work had nothing to do with money, but instead focused on the result of cultivating, of providing, and of taking care of ourselves and others. It is done with an output in mind, with the honor and satisfaction of a job well done, which is further seen through God calling all of His creation “good” and “very good”.

But why else did God create? As seen throughout the book of Psalms, God’s creation in nature leads people to Him, to reveal His character to those that look for it. For those of you that may not be familiar, this is the idea of general revelation, in which God makes himself known through His creation. To give a quick lesson in theology, there are two different ways that God makes Himself known to us. The first is special revelation, which are the specific ways that God speaks to us in clear-cut ways. This includes the entirety of Scripture, as well as dreams, visions, prophecies, God’s appearances, and Jesus Christ’s first coming. Here, we are given specific words that have been recorded and passed down as a testament of who He is. Through this, we can study His character endlessly, and learn more about our Creator and Savior. Then, there is general revelation, which is the idea that creation points back to a Creator. While the oceans may not write down records of how God made it, and the mountains have never specifically told us that He is merciful and kind, looking at the intricacies and majesty of all that creation serves in itself as proof that there is a greater being behind it all. Anyone that has spent a great deal of time in nature has at some point become overwhelmed by it all, marvelling at its detail, and has come to the conclusion that this isn’t simply a result of chance, luck, or coincidence. Romans 2 even points out that general revelation is seen in our own hearts, how we know instinctually that there is a right and wrong, even if we choose not to act on it. This is how God is able to make Himself known to every human being on earth, even if they are never able to access a copy of the Bible.

One specific Psalm that touches on this idea is Psalm 19, which says that “the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.” (Psalm 19:1-5). Here, we see how God’s work in creation reveals Himself to us, and did before any piece of the Bible was ever written.

The Nature of Work Changed

While God did give man work as a command and a way to obey Him, the nature of work changed as a result of the fall. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and seek their own glory instead of His, one result of this was a change in work.

“And unto Adam [God] said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:17-19)

Here, God cursed the ground, and told Adam that work will now be hard, and that there will be obstacles. He states that work will always be a part of man’s life, until he returns to dust. Now, there is no promise of satisfaction through work. Sometimes, the thorns and thistles will destroy crops, and we will experience loss through work. This resembles the idea of man falling short, and the earth’s brokenness now mirrors our own. We’ve all seen this in our own lives, how work can be draining and exhausting, and sometimes even seems fruitless. Since this fall, the nature of work has changed, but has not defeated its original purpose made through the Father.

The Purpose of Work

Through my research, the purpose of work has broken down to three main points, so it seems clear to physically separate these three points to give them full understanding. However, these three pieces do not exist separately, but instead are woven together in a fuller understanding, so let the idea of one influence the others, seeing work in the way that God does.

1. Work is meant to bring glory to God

In the example of Adam in the garden, work is connected to God’s creation, to take care of it and recognize it for what it is. Adam did not seek to take care of this nature in order to make himself look greater, or to up his own status. His work was done out of a reverence for God, and in the understanding that it is his duty to take care of what has been given to him. In the same way, we are commanded to work to the best of our ability, to bring glory to our Father. When I was younger, my church’s summer camp taught us a verse that we recited before every single meal. To this day, it has remained engraved in my brain, and serves as an example of why I do what I do. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Our actions as Christians show the world who we believe God to be, so the way in which we work tells unbelievers about who God is. If we cut corners and take the easy way out, we fail to truly represent Him.

A similar command is seen in Colossians, one that goes back to this idea of work being not for ourselves, but for the Lord. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24) To work heartily in this verse means to do it with everything you have, to give it your all knowing that it is for Jesus. Even though earning wages is important, the ultimate motivation for your work should be to represent the God that you are serving through this work.

2. Work is meant to help others

Another commandment given in the New Testament relating to work is Ephesians 4:28, which says this: “let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth”. Work was never intended to be a selfish endeavor, and as we see how work is done to bring glory to God, it is also meant to help others. The gain that we receive through our work is not meant to be hoarded, or to give us an opportunity to recline into our wealth or provision. Instead, we are called to use this to help provide for others, especially those that aren’t able to work themselves. For some people, they have found themselves in circumstances where working isn’t an option, maybe due to medical issues or basic needs not being met. Here, we have an opportunity to provide with what we have been given, to in turn bring God glory in the way we represent Jesus’ selflessness and sacrificial love for others.

3. Work is not meant to fulfill us

Even though work is a beautiful picture in creation, and we see how it strengthens the relationship between God and Adam, it is not meant to fulfill us. The book of Ecclesiastes gives an incredible example, where the author discovers this after working tirelessly.

“I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits: I made me pools of water, to water therewith they wood that bringeth forth trees: I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour, that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:4-11)

Reading this, I hear it in my own voice, relating heavily to where this individual is at. He worked hard, and reaped amazing benefits. He found joy in his work, and felt like he had done it all, yet he still realized its vanity. If we look to work to be what gives us ultimate satisfaction, we will fall short. I found this out on my own when I reached burnout, and learned that if I dedicate my life to my work, I will reach a bitter end one way or another, regardless of how much I love the journey. Just because God wants us to work does not mean that this is what He intended us to be satisfied by. We can only be satisfied through our relationship with Christ, in the understanding that our works cannot and will not define us. Even though we are commanded to work, and to do it to the best of our abilities, that will never change how we are defined, because we are defined simply through the freedom of the blood of Christ.

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Unfortunately, this view of work does not match what modern American culture tells us. It is difficult to live this way when the world that we exist in teaches such a different list of priorities, and I understand that all too well. Next, I want to further explore what the world says about work, and how it leads to recklessness and a race against rest.