"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me. For I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." – Jesus, Matthew 11:28-30 (MEV)
Resting is a very important thing to God. He Himself rested after six days of creation, and invites all men to enter His rest. While we're here in the topic of resting, I would like to talk about something that many often confuse it with: quitting.
Rest Vs. Quit
Quitting is very different from resting. Christ Jesus calls us to rest in Him, while we keep on fighting the good fight of faith. God wants us to rest under the shadow of His wings as we push towards holy and righteous living. Resting allows us to push further, while quitting doesn't.
The Bible speaks of quitting as a dangerous thing if we talk about it with regard to continuing in our salvation. We should not quit in our walk with God. We should not quit pressing on towards maturity in Christ. We shouldn't quit praying for our loved ones and those who are yet to be saved. We shouldn't quit the fight of faith that Christ has actually already overcome for us.
Knowing this, we must realise that while quitting means stopping, resting means taking a break, a breather. The former is the closing of a door while the latter is the opening of a little window.
How They Differ
Friend, you might be tempted to quit following God and fellowshipping with fellow believers, but don't. Rest if you have to rest, but don't quit in the pursuit of God. Here's how to distinguish between resting and quitting.
1. Resting might mean taking a break from ministry; quitting means stopping
Continuous work of service for God and for men in the church is a tiring job. Everybody needs enough rest, and taking a short sabbatical to rest allows our bodies and minds to recover. Quitting simply means we stop serving altogether.
2. Resting allows us to step back, think, and return a better person; quitting means no coming back
Taking short periods of rest allows us to look back and evaluate ourselves. When we take a break and detach ourselves from others, we are able to process our thoughts and feelings, see what we did wrong, and learn from our failures. In essence, resting allows us to prepare for when we return.
Quitting, on the other hand, simply means we won't come back. Those who quit usually drop the period of self-evaluation, which is very important.
3. Resting allows us to commune with God; Quitting in the faith means abandoning God
Lastly and more importantly, taking a break allows us to spend more good quality time with God.
I don't mean to say that all of us should drop what we're doing or take a leave from work all the time, but setting aside periods of time to dedicate to communing with God is crucial. If Christ Jesus Himself constantly withdrew from people to pray, we should, too.
When we rest, our goal is to commune with God, pray to Him and hear Him. We don't quit in our pursuit of God. Instead, we press harder towards Him.
