Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength… It is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less.

C. H. Spurgeon

Move, move, move. Go, go, go. Hustle, hustle, hustle. Such is the battle cry of the business world today. People working 90 hour work weeks, people running on empty; all the while thinking and feeling like they are not doing enough. Seriously??

I want to be clear. I am not saying being busy is bad, nor is going full speed when the wind is in your sails. I am saying, rather, that always doing something doesn’t automatically procure, or impart fulfilling meaning to the heart. Not now, nor someday.

Meaning in life isn’t made, nor is it found from mindless wandering, pandering, carousing, and flirting with being eternally active. Meaning starts in the garden of peace. It starts in the halls of grace in the kingdom of the heart.

There is a beautiful story in the scriptures of resting or wrestling. It is the story of Jacob wrestling with God. It can be found in Genesis 32:22-31. The basic gist of the story is Jacob was about to meet his brother Esau, whom he cheated out of his birthright in a sneaky fashion — never knew furry arms could be used in a con lol — and Jacob was terrified. He hadn’t seen Esau for many years, and for all he knew, Esau was out for blood.

Fast forwarding now, after Jacob poured out his heart before God, and sent his family off for safety considerations, he didn’t get a soft answer to his prayer — rather he got the equivalent to a Divine Arm Bar/Mack Truck. Long story short he wrestled all night with God, though he was unaware of that fact till morning, and he got the blessing he requested as well; along with something some would call a caveat, a jacked up hip. Everything went well for Esau and Jacob in the end.

Taken in the literal sense alone this is merely an account of something that happened a long time ago, but what if it could be fleshed out a little bit? Is it safe to say that it is also a story of accepting the handicap of our limits (the jacked up hip), and in doing so, becoming able to receive the blessings of Christ? What if it’s not in our efforts that meaning is found? Rather, what if when one walks with God on an open hand, open heart basis — success, blessing, meaning, and happiness come in their own correct time from the heart of the Son?

I think that’s actually the way life works. Not merely in matters of faith, but also with needs, wants, desires, and anything else common to the human experience. It could possibly be that to get value one must first learn to rest in the present value they already have. The present limit of their existence. Perhaps we were never meant to try to make kingdoms. Maybe we were meant to receive the measure of Goodness that our souls can use, and manage in the best fashion at the moment. Perhaps as our character matures, our desires mature as well and are satisfied by God as they do so.

Mankind doesn’t often use the standard of giving to someone on the basis of their character, but in the scriptures, it is quite integral to God. As one rests on the works He is doing within the heart. The fruit of those works manifests in life. If that is the case then resting in God, and letting him workout through you does more work than one can do in a thousand lifetimes.

You can wrestle with God, life, and anything, but it is better to rest in Him so He can wrestle with your life. If there is one person you want to fight for you it is He. He can do all you can not do.