Human beings were created as relational beings by a relational Creator. Fundamentally, we all crave relationships. We all yearn for intimacy. Whether it is with family, friends, peers or with God, we need comradery. We may have superficial associations with some people but desire profound nearness with others. Ultimately, we are all intrinsically driven at one point or another to seek a deep connection with our purpose and to ascertain the meaning of our existence.
When Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me,” (John 14:6), He identified Himself as the pathway to intimacy with God. In John 10:9, He pronounced, “I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” In Christ there is intimacy and rest.
“The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, and refreshes my soul.” (Psalm 23). In Jesus we find rest for our souls. The writer of Hebrews encourages believers to enter His rest (Hebrews 4:1-11). And Paul writes in Romans 4:4-5, that it is by faith and not through work we are justified.
Jesus did the heavy lifting for us. He fulfilled the Law so we are free from it. We can rest in Him because of His work not ours. Hebrew words translated as rest include Shabbat, Nuach, and Menuchah, which means a state of peace or tranquility. To rest in Christ is to be at peace, to be still, quiet and calm. In this serenity we discover space to intimately commune with Him.
REST IN THE LORD
In order to rest in the Lord, we are called into the presence of the Lord. Rather than being troubled by the continuous worries of life, we have the assurance that there is salvation beyond this life. That the temporal troubles we are facing will not defeat us and will not prevail against our Savior. With the devil you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t, but when you trust in Jesus you are forgiven. Period.
Paul advises us in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Knowing that our sins will not be counted against us, we can enjoy freedom from sin with the burden of sin lifted from our back. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36).
He beacons us to draw near to Him in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Jesus invites us to set aside our own yoke – one that is heavy and weighted down with sin, and to step into His yoke and to trust in Him. To be yoked with Christ means to be partnered with Him and to share our load with Him. This contrasts with the burdens the Pharisees placed on the backs of the people and they themselves weren’t inclined to help carry (Matthew 23:4).
This isn’t an invitation to join a religious organization, a self-improvement group or personal betterment scheme, it is an appeal to experience His presence. To be refreshed by His forgiveness and grace. “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.” (John 7:37).
BROKEN AND DYSFUNCTIONAL
We live in a broken and dysfunctional world. The Hebrew word for broken isshabar, which means to break, shatter, crush or destroy. Hearts can be shattered and our spirits can be crushed by the unrelenting weight of a fallen and sinful civilization that is driven by power and greed. Even our very own families can contribute to us feeling as though we don’t measure up.
Psalm 34:18 reminds us, “The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” When we call out to Him in the midst of our darkest moments, He meets us where we are. He doesn’t wait for us to get our affairs in order before we come to Him. When we trust Jesus, not only does He meet us there but He stays with us, consoles us and counsels us. He reassures us with the words, “And surely I am with you always,” (Matthew 28:20).
The Samaritan woman at the well is a case in point. John 4:7-26 records the narrative where Jesus meets a woman who comes to Jacob’s well to draw water in the heat of the day. Their discussion reveals that she does not have a good reputation in the town of Sychar because of many failed relationships and the judgmental nature of the townsfolk. She avoids going to the well with the other women in the cool of the morning because of her shame and their contempt.
Jesus is intentional in his timing and arrives at the well when she is due to appear. He discloses that He knows she has had five husbands and that the man she is currently with is not her husband. He doesn’t chastise her for her sin but rather, extends to her a drink of living water that only He can offer. This conversation results in the woman believing in Jesus as the Messiah and her testimony in turn leads many others to believe also.
Jesus transcends the cultural animosity between Jews and Samaritans that stems from a long history of friction (2 Kings 17). The Jews regarded the Samaritans as unclean outsiders. Furthermore, Jesus ignores the societal standards forbidding men to talk to women they weren’t married to, especially alone and outside of town. This woman has done nothing deserving of an audience with the King of Kings, yet He meets her in her circumstance and offers her a fresh new start.
Societal expectations will ultimately let us down and only Jesus is reliable and trustworthy to lift us up and give us hope. Only Jesus offers a life that is eternal. Everything else in this world is temporal and will satisfy for a short time and then we will be thirsty again, as those who drink well water will be. The living water of Christ truly satisfies our souls.
When the woman at the well realized she was talking to the Messiah she experienced a change of heart that compelled her to share the news with others. We must recognize that we are also spiritually thirsty and ask for the living water that Christ freely shares. Just like the man with leprosy who said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” And Jesus replied, “I am willing.” We can receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus.
JESUS SEES THROUGH OUR FAILURES
Jesus sees through our failures, our struggles and our deficiencies and recognizes our value as His unique creation, made in His image. Not only does He see our broken hearts, He sees what broke them, He understands our emotional pain and how we compensate by turning to compulsive behaviors such as perfectionism, people pleasing, alcohol and drug abuse, poor body image, eating disorders or same sex attraction and sexual promiscuity.
We find ourselves in bondage to our past heartbreaks through our reactions and overcompensations. We in turn find it difficult to deal with the challenges we face in the present as we experience trigger points that inhibit our ability to function effectively. This highlights the necessity of knowing Jesus as opposed to knowing about Jesus. Knowing truth provides intellectual insight, however, experiencing truth set us free from lies.
The deep transformational and intimate relationship we yearn for is not a matter of intellect or willpower, but is attained through submission and surrender. Only Jesus can activate the intimacy we crave. Our works cannot bridge the chasm between us and God. The curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom not from bottom to top.
Proverbs 21:31 declares, “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.” Jesus doesn’t simply address the symptoms of our sin – He penetrates to the root causes and heals our innermost brokenness in the very core of our being. In doing so, He frees us from the inner captivity that prevents us from experiencing the fullness we were designed to live with. In John 10:10, Jesus declares, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Paul says in Philippians 4:4-7, “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Prayer is much more than talking to God, it is talking with God, and the silence of solitude provides the stillness to hear His voice. Psalm 37:7 invites us to “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him;”. Intimacy with Christ allows us the opportunity to become vulnerable with someone we trust. And when we expose our deepest wounds and surrender our darkest thoughts to Jesus, He is willing and able to heal them. Then and only then can we begin to experience life as God designed it to be.
Christ removes the barriers that prevent intimacy with God. He is where religion and relationship diverge. Theology can make you arrogant, however, a relationship with Jesus evokes humility and dispels arrogance. When Jesus died the curtain of the temple was torn, thereby eliminating the impediment preventing inseparability and oneness with God. Jesus is the truth that sets us free.
