Rest as the Ultimate Work of Faith

I have spent much of my Christian life asking the Lord what work He wants me to do, what burden He wants to lay on me, when in actuality, He wants to give me rest.

When I was in the hospital—experiencing psychosis—it was rest that saved me. Owing to the Holy Spirit, I remembered that Jesus slept during the storm. And so, when it seemed to me that I was in the pit of hell, I followed but one example: the Jesus who slept during the storm.

Ever since then, the main thing which the Lord has kept from me is work. For me, life without work has been the most humiliating experience. Stripped of my ability to produce, there are days when life hasn’t felt worth living. In this painful season, I’ve been meditating deeply on the fact that Jesus sleeps during the storm.

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ 41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

-Mark 4:35-41

That passage often seems so offensive to me because I cannot comprehend that my Lord wants me to rest. The disciples took Jesus’ rest as an indication that He did not care about what was going on in the world. Have you ever felt as though the Lord is indifferent to your crisis? Does His silence offend you?

We tend to do quite a bit of mental gymnastics to escape the reality that Jesus was truly asleep. We tell ourselves He wasn't really resting; He was just pretending to sleep, peeking every now and then to determine whether the disciples had suffered enough. We assume it was some grand plan to expose the disciples for their unbelief. But such speculation robs you of true belief, and therefore of your blessing. Our Lord was asleep, for that is what the scriptures say. We must be careful not to inadvertently make Jesus a manipulator just to soothe our own anxieties.

Internally, I suffer the same disposition as the disciples, as I learned somewhere along the way that rest was an enemy of faith. But no, Jesus exhibits something so deeply offensive to me when He sleeps during the storm: He rests. Rest appears to be the ultimate height of faith.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

At first glance, this seems contradictory to the rest of the New Testament. James 2:18 says:

“You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works.”

But could it be said that rest is a work of faith? Perhaps the ultimate work of faith is to rest in Jesus. The author of Hebrews confirms this paradox, urging us to "make every effort to enter that rest" (Hebrews 4:11). It takes a tremendous amount of spiritual labor to stop striving, to lay down our need for control, and to simply trust.

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬