Rest Robbers

by Tim Howard

Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which people have one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while they sleep. It disrupts a person’s sleep and when they awaken they don’t feel rested. I know, because I am one of those who struggle with this.

You may not be wrestling with this disorder but you may be robbed of rest in other areas. You can lose sleep when you are worried about your past decisions. Especially if your past choices are causing negative ramifications in the present – true rest becomes elusive.

You may be among those who are restless and losing sleep over the current world conditions.  The threat of global recession, continuing wars, famines, natural disasters and incurable diseases – they can rob a person of their rest.

What about the future? The fear of the unknown, the uncertainty of what lies ahead, the possibilities of disaster that awaits. All these things can be rest robbers unless you follow God’s prescription for finding peace.

In Hebrews chapter 4 the author shows us a way to find true rest.  This rest is defined as a ‘peace from God’ that will allow you to sleep all night long and have pleasant dreams.  Check out what Paul the Apostle says in Philippians 4:7.  He tells us that this peace defies logic because it’s not connected to external things.  You can be in the middle of a raging storm and still sleep like a baby.  Mark 4:38 records a time when Jesus did just that.

The goalie who played for the United States soccer team alluded to this scripture in Philippians when he recently said: “I am blessed to be living a dream.  And yet, if it all went away tomorrow, I know I would still have peace. That probably sounds crazy to most people, but that’s the kind of peace Christ gives. It is rooted in His love and it surpasses all understanding.”

There is a peace that grows strong when you stop worrying about your past and fretting about your future. Those two things are not the solution and do not produce peace or rest.

When you won’t leave the past hurts, the problems, the misunderstandings, the grudges and the resentments behind – they infect your present reality and don’t affect it in a positive way. 

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah tells us:  ‘Do not be obsessed with the former things or continually focus on the things of the past.” Why? They will rob you of peace and rest.

Regarding the future, Jesus said these words in Matthew 6:34 …do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Your decisions today actually shape your tomorrows and release God’s peace now. You can determine today that the rest of your days will be the best of your days. 

We were not created to live in the past or the future but in the present.  Rest and peace are not available to those who are obsessed with ‘what was’ or overly focused on ‘what will be’ – but to those who choose to embrace ‘what is.’ 

When you are at peace – you rest well. World peace in the external realm can only happen when people have an internal peace. God offers a peace through Jesus that is an eternal peace and can be experienced internally and externally. This possibility was declared by the angels “Peace on Earth…”