I recently returned to Canada during the Lunar New Year to visit my family. I was grateful to see my 96-year-old father still energetic and able to move around freely. Before returning to Manchester, I visited a relative who had been placed in a nursing home by his family. When I saw him, I felt that he didn’t really show signs of dementia, yet he was still sent to this nursing home on the outskirts of the city. I shared the gospel message with him again. In the past, he wasn’t very willing to listen, but this time was different — he sat down and listened. I think he felt very lonely. He wanted to go out and see his children, but he had no freedom to leave his floor. The nursing home itself was quite large and had a peaceful environment. As my elderly father and I left the nursing home, my father sighed and said, “Canada really feels like a hell for the elderly,” because he saw how lonely and restricted our relative was in that nursing home.
We may spend a lot of time and effort preparing and planning for our future. But even when we no longer must worry about food and shelter, can we really enjoy leisure and rest? My relative’s situation made me reflect deeply.
“The Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” (Isaiah 30:15)
We may have believed in the Lord for many years, but how much time have we truly spent entering His rest? We may constantly struggle and strive in this world, feeling exhausted, even longing to retire early from life’s battles. But the Lord says that true salvation comes through returning to Him and resting in Him. Jesus Christ Himself is that rest. He said that those who come to Him will find rest.
Rest is not just about stopping work or relaxing — it is about entering into complete satisfaction. Although we no longer observe the traditional Sabbath day, when we come to worship the Lord of the Sabbath, are we truly at rest? When we worship, do we still feel unsatisfied and burdened by life’s concerns? Sometimes it’s hard to focus on worship because we are filled with dissatisfaction — with our children, our families, or even with the church’s chairs, lighting, or sound system. Perhaps we are unhappy with the speaker as well. But when we realize that with the Lord, we lack nothing, we can begin to enter His rest.
Let us say to the Lord: “Everything You have given us is purposeful, and I am content.” At that moment, you will start to experience true rest and worship.
Jesus Christ will never leave us in loneliness. He is Emmanuel — God with us. Everything we face and everyone we meet is part of His plan and presence. The Lord loves us and gives Himself for us.
Are you satisfied now?
Pastor Tak Shun Lee