So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.
Col. 2:16-17 NLT
The Sabbath Rest of God is experiencing by faith God’s adequacy and faithfulness in every life situation resulting in freedom from worry, anxiety, and care. This rest is not passivity, inactivity, or idleness. Rest is experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit lifting us up to Jesus in the midst of all our earthly fears and worldly burdens. New Testament rest is the peace of Christ, confidence in God’s covenant promise, and assurance in the Holy Spirit’s keeping power.
The two key verses for this New Covenant understanding of rest is Col. 2:16 and Heb. 4:8-10. The ESV Study Bible (Heb. 4:8-10) states, “the Sabbath rest remains possible for God’s people to enter even now, in this life (v. 9). The promise of entering now into this rest means ceasing from the spiritual strivings that reflect uncertainty about one’s final destiny; it means enjoyment of being established in the presence of God, to share in the everlasting joy that God entered when he rested on the seventh day (v. 10).â€
The rest we seek is Christ deep and personal. Christ in the heart soothing the fears that bind us. The Holy Spirit in the soul releasing within the peace that passes all understanding. The Father in the mind leading, directing, and guiding.
In our anxious, stress-filled world, we must find the rest of God. Yet, the rest we seek is not a rejuvenation of our energy; it is an exchange of energy – our life for God’s – through which the vessel of our humanity is filled with the all-sufficiency of the Divine Presence, where we draw from the fullness of God Himself.