THE REST OF THE SPIRIT 

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.”  

(Matthew 11:28) 

The exemption plan which can also be called the redemption plan starts with the rest of the spirit. We cannot truly be at rest when our spirits are troubled and struggling to survive. The rest of the spirit is the fundamental requirement for anyone who wants peace and rest in life. The stress that many are experiencing today; even though manifesting on the surface and affecting their lives physically, has its root in their spirit. The root cause of unrest lies in the spirit of each of us and until this is address, all efforts to enjoy rest bodily will always end in frustration. 

It is a great misunderstanding to think that any unrest experienced physically is because of physical conditions only. Our bodies only respond to the physical conditions based on the state of our spirit. Peoples’ responses to situations differ. A situation that can make one person to cry can be what someone else might laugh off. It is the same event but different spiritual state. 

The pivotal role of the spirit in our quest for peace is due essentially to the truth that humans are basically spirit beings. You are a spirit, living in a body and having a soul. Jesus, in speaking concerning a matter closely related to this subject stated: 

“There is nothing from outside a man that by entering him can defile him. But the things which come out of the man are what defile him.” (Mark 7:15) 

And to be sure we are not confused about this, He clarified with His disciples what He was talking about: 

“When He had left the people and entered the house, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. He said to them, “Are you so without understanding also? Do you not know that anything from the outside that enters a man cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart, but into his stomach, and goes out into the sewer, thus purifying all foods?” (Mark 7:17-19) 

Physical conditions have so little to do with us experiencing rest and peace. Rest is worked from the inside out and so also is unrest. Further in this discourse, we are told how defilement happen: 

“He said to them, “What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride and foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” (Mark 7:20-23) 

When your spirit is full of evil thoughts, your life will be full of unrest. One of the many things listed above by Jesus within in the spirit will cause anyone to be troubled on the outside. The challenge here is that everyone can identify with one or many of these, and this is because we all inherited dead spirit. Environmental rest will be scarce where people carry about dead spirits. 

Spirits will come alive the moment people turn to Jesus. He is the life giver. He is the only One who can bring about the regeneration of spirit. This is clarified by the statement below: 

“Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) 

This is the reason for His invitational statement from the opening reference. He said come to Me! This is a bold statement to make. Jesus is so sure about this hence the invitation. When you come to Jesus, He releases life to your spirit; deals with everything responsible for the internal unrest, and give you the rest of the spirit. The burden of sin is lifted and you are free to live the life that has been ordained for you. Sin sinks destiny. Sin slows a man down in life. This is one burden that multitudes are struggling with; the unrest of many is directly linked to the hold of sin in their lives. Jesus wants to take away this burden; He wants to set us free to become what we were created to be. He is longing for us to be connected again to our destiny. All we should do is come to Him; He will not force Himself on us so we do not see Him as ‘bossy’, it will be our choice. We are the one to turn from facing our struggles by ourselves and respond to His invitation.