Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul…. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around. 2 Chronicles 15: 15, NKJV.
Holy Father, we pray that You will give us soul rest after we have sought You with all that we are, and all that we have; so please come close and teach us how to do this; we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Many of us relate rest to a lack of activity; but the truth of the matter is, that rest, true rest, is a state of mind. When God gave His people rest “all around,” it was exactly that, a complete rest. They had rest within and without. It represented a state of peacefulness. But it represented something even more profound, it represented an at-oneness with God, a state of willing obedience to His will.
The process toward acquiring this rest started with a conscious decision to “seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.” It was not something that was coerced. The Word of God reveals that, “all Judah rejoiced at the oath.” They entered this covenant willingly, and joyfully, and as a result there was peace.
Prior to this state of peacefulness, we read the following: “And in those times, there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands” (5). But when the king heard the message of reform, and realized that it was their disobedience to the law of God that was causing their suffering (6), he made a one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn around, and God gave them rest (7-18).
Oftentimes, we look outside of ourselves to find rest. “If only I had better, more considerate, neighbors; I could be more restful.” “If only my co-workers were easier to get along with, how peaceful life would be.” “If I was only making more money, I would not have to worry so much about getting my bills paid on time, and I could relax.”
If we are completely honest, we would admit that with a little more tolerance on our part, the neighbors’ attitude would not bother us, at least, not as much. Maybe if I was willing to be the “peace-maker” in the office, we would all get along better. And, if I was living within my means, I would most likely be on time in paying my bills. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but very often, we deny ourselves rest by the way we live.
May God grant that in this New Year we will make a conscious decision to “seek the LORD God… with all [our] heart and with all [our] soul…” and as in the case of Israel, may it be true of us, that, “He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around.”