The Fingerprint of Rest

Physics has it that objects at rest remain at rest. This is the 1st Law of Motion. You probably knew that…if you didn’t you have Sir Newton to thank for making the world aware of this valuable principle. I imagine that Newton personally knew this phenomenon to be more than just a physical principle. I imagine that Newton’s revelation of this principle stemmed from one that had already taken root within the depths of his spirit. I say this because Newton, who stands impressively amidst the most respected fathers and pioneers in science, was also a man whose life’s mission was to know God. As a matter of fact, Newton’s desire to understand the world around him came from his desire to know his God.

 

I like to imagine that maybe…just maybe Newton, whether aware of it or not, was able to make the awesome discoveries he contributed to science influenced by spiritual phenomena he had experienced in his life. I like to imagine that, when Newton penned what we know as today as his 1st Law of motion, he had perhaps been thinking of a rest he had found at the core his soul, which had proved to be immovable throughout the tense motions of life. I know I may be stretching things a bit here…but bear with me! What do we know? We might found out that I’m right when we get to heaven 😉 But think about it…how true is that? Just as physical objects at rest remain at rest, the souls of those experiencing true rest, will always remain at rest no matter how much they may be shaken and tossed!  I say true rest because there is indeed a thing as false or counterfeit rest. What do I mean? Well, there are many times when we think that we are at rest, but we really are not. I speak from experience. There have been many moments in my life when I thought I was a place of rest, when I truly wasn’t…and God had to teach me and is still teaching me today how to truly be at rest.

 

So how can we know if we are really at rest? Well lucky for us, rest has a unique mark…an unmistakable fingerprint by which it can be identified. Do you have any idea what it is? You may be tempted to think that the signature of rest is perhaps, the feeling of peace or sense of security that comes with it; but that is not it. We need something more unique than that to identify true rest…because even counterfeit rest is able to emulate feelings of peace and security. So what is it that sets true rest apart? What is this fingerprint of rest? I’ll tell you this – the one common thing that God pointed out to me, regarding the moments that I was wrong in my perception of my experience of rest was that in all those moments, I  experienced “rest” only until I was moved or shaken. God was basically saying to me, “Hiz, if you move or shake when are shaken or tossed around, you were never at rest to begin with“…because an object at rest…remains at rest. This is what truly sets rest apart…it’s signature of immovability. This is the fingerprint of rest! 

 

David sings –

Truly He is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress. I will not be moved.

Psalm 62:6 NIV/NKJV

 

 

I find it so beautiful that David calls God his Rock! By it, David is implying that God is his firm foundation, on whom his whole life has been built and  rooted…and so his logical conclusion is that he will never be moved! When I read that, I can’t help but think about how it applies to me..and guess what? I am saved! Man, what good news it is for those of us who have given our lives to Christ and become born-again as the sons and daughters of God! It means that we shall also never be moved because our lives have been built on The Rock.

 

Yet, I can’t help but wonder why I sometimes find myself and other believers shaken by the storms of life. If our lives have been built on The Rock and we have entered His rest, then shouldn’t we be immovable? We definitely should! So what are we missing?

 

The truth is that, while the primary step to being at rest is building our lives on The Rock, there is a secondary step that is key in establishing rest within our souls. It is one thing to be saved and secure as a son or daughter of God. But it’s another to realize this truth and live as one who has been saved and is secure in God. In the most simplified of terms, it is one thing to be but it is another thing to know and do! You see, you and I have nothing to fear because we are secure forever. We have every good reason to be at rest because all is well…and not just temporally, but for all of eternity. But we have to know and become convinced of this truth that we may live actually experiencing it! One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 26:3..it says –

 

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.

 

I want this verse to be an encouragement to you! Let it be a reminder to you that no matter what you may be going through and whatever you may be facing, hope is the most logical conclusion for your situation. And here is why – you are loved by Majesty…by the one who created and upholds the cosmos! He is your Father and He loves you! The moment you allow yourself to become aware and convinced of His unique and personal love for you, you will find yourself trusting Himand when thoughts of your soul, as a response, begin to gravitate towards and stay upon this Lover You have trusted, you will not be able to escape the perfect supernatural peace and rest that will overwhelm you! Then, at that very moment, you will know that you are truly at rest, because nothing will move you. When the storms of life come, they will only be as waves of the ocean hitting against the foot of a mountain! They won’t be able to move you…they will instead bounce back, having been moved by you. Oh Praise God!!

 

I’m done. But in a final cheesy attempt to close, I would like to propose to you that Newton’s understanding of gravity also emanated from the fact he found his spirit always gravitating to something greater than life – God. How do I know? Well, you be the judge of his beautifully uttered words –

 

“I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than the ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

 

About the author

Hizkias Neway is a bible teacher and author. He is the founder of BelovedNation church in Washington DC.

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