In 1992, my wife Loree became a Practical Parent Educator for the Castleberry Independent School District in Fort Worth, Texas. As a program, Practical Parent Education was only six years old. It started in Plano, Texas, in 1986 as a possible solution to a disturbing problem. The affluent Plano Independent School District had one of the highest suicide rates among high school students. It seemed that the students were getting an education in stress, not rest. In order to change the problem, the program sought to change the parents. If the parents learned how to change stress into rest, their children would learn it as well. Both generations had to change schools—from the school of stress to the school of rest.

It appears Jesus is offering a similar program in Matthew 11:28-30. He says,

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

In the day of Christ, the Jews received their teaching from the rabbis. When in school, it was said that the student was under the yoke of the Rabbi. Here, Jesus encourages His listeners to change schools, for under the rabbis they are experiencing stress, but under Him they find rest.

We are a generation well-educated in stress.

• A Louis Harris Poll reports that 86% of Americans report chronic stress.
• The International Labor Organization calls stress “the twentieth century disease.”
• The estimated cost of job stress in the United States is $200 billion annually.
• Of the top twenty prescription drugs, eleven are for stress disorders.
• Physician Robert Anderson, a specialist in stress-related illnesses, used to attribute 30% to 40% of aliments to stress. Now he believes it is 90%.¹

We are well-educated in stress, but Jesus offers us the opportunity to change schools. Under His tutelage, we have the opportunity to change from the school of stress to the school of rest.

If you accept Jesus’ invitation to change schools, then you need to understand that your curriculum will change as well. You will be introduced to several new subjects that provide rest. One of the subjects is a course on memory.

Memory

My dad was sitting with a group of people waiting to get a blood test. The gentleman beside him was a talkative man, so he asked Dad, “Why are you here?”

My dad is always looking for an open door to a practical joke, so he lowered his countenance and said, “Well, my doctor has just given me bad news. I have an incurable disease that will only get worse with time.”

“What is it?” the man asked.

Dad said, “The doctor called it C.R.A.”

Now really confused, the man inquired, “I haven’t heard of that. What does C.R.A. mean?”

“CAN’T REMEMBER ANYTHING!” Dad answered.

Like C.R.A., stress will be an incurable disease that will only get worse if you can’t remember anything God has done for you in the past.

If you are to change schools from stress to rest, you need God’s course on memory. Your course will cover the following. You will spend time in the Psalms. Several Psalms were written as tributes to God for His intervention during stressful times.

You will cover memorials and memorable people. One memorial is found in Joshua 4. A stone memorial was placed in the Jordan River to remind generations of how God parted the Jordan so His people could enter the Promised Land. Before crossing, God told Joshua to remember Moses, for just as God was with Moses, He promised to be with Joshua.

Finally, God’s course on memory will also teach the Jewish calendar. The Old Testament establishes around sixty feasts, fasts and functions that occur annually on the Jewish calendar. Each of these activities is to be used as a reminder of what God had done in the past. Remembering what God has done in the past reminds us what He can still do today.

One lesson from God’s course on memory is found in Leviticus 23:39-43. It involves the Feast of Tabernacles.

39 “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the LORD for seven days; the first day is a day of rest, and the eighth day also is a day of rest. 40 On the first day you are to take choice fruit from the trees, and palm fronds, leafy branches and poplars, and rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths 43 so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’”

The purpose for living in booths or tabernacles for a week was to remind the people of the time when God delivered them from Egypt. It reminded them of a time when they were in a circumstance that was,

• UNWANTED – they were slaves in Egypt
• UNCHANGING – they had been slaves for 400 years
• UNCONTROLLABLE – they were powerless to change their condition

Yet, living in booths for a week reminded them of how God resolved an unwanted, unchanging and uncontrollable circumstance. The memory of what God had done in past circumstances had become a means of rest for any present circumstances that were causing them stress. God, who had delivered before, could deliver again.

It was Oscar Wilde in the late 1800’s who wrote, “Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.” Believing Wilde to be right, use your diary to give you rest. Turn back the pages to when you faced an unwanted, unchanging and uncontrollable circumstance and God delivered you. Use that memory as you face a current page of your life that is unwanted, unchanging and uncontrollable. Remember that the God who delivered you in the past has not changed, weakened or become forgetful with age. God who delivered you then can deliver you now. Use your memory to change your stress into rest.

The Holy Spirit

The second course to be taken in God’s school of rest is a course on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Surprisingly, the first lesson would come from the Old Testament passage of Numbers 10:33-36.

33 So they set out from the mountain of the LORD and traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest. 34 The cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp. 35 Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, “Rise up, O LORD! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.” 36 Whenever it came to rest, he said, “Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel.”

As God’s people journeyed toward the Promised Land, they depended on God’s presence, protection and direction. The Ark of the Covenant represented these to the people. Therefore by following the leadership of the Ark, they found rest.

As Christians, we do not have the Ark of the Covenant. We have someone more personal. We have the promised presence, protection and direction of the Holy Spirit. According to John 14:15-18 & 33, by following His leadership, we find rest. Jesus said,

15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus promises that if we follow the leadership of His Holy Spirit, we will experience peace. Like following the Ark of the Covenant, we will experience rest. Here is why.

NEEDS GENERATE STRESS
while
SUPPLY GENERATES REST

John chapters 14-16 represent Jesus’ explanation about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Through the nouns and verbs Jesus uses to describe the person and work of the Holy Spirit, you are given a list of what He supplies. By listing the supplies, you see how they match your needs.

• When you need assurance, He supplies counsel - John 14:16
• When you need encouragement, He supplies comfort - John 14:16
• When you need reliability, He supplies truth - John 14:17
• When you need understanding, He supplies teaching – John 14:26
• When you need verification, He supplies reminders – John 14:26
• When you need theology, He supplies a testimony – John 15:26
• When you need correction, He supplies conviction – John 16:8
• When you need direction, He supplies guidance – John 16:13
• When you need the Father, He supplies access – John 16:14

Thus, when your needs fill you with stress, the Holy Spirit within you supplies the rest.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”² He is right, especially if referring to the person and work of the Holy Spirit within you as a believer. You will never face a need the Holy Spirit cannot supply. You will never have a stress the Holy Spirit cannot turn into rest.

The editorial of a Thanksgiving Day newspaper printed the story of a first grade teacher who had asked her students to draw a picture of something they were thankful for. Douglas, a quiet boy whose hygiene announced the lack of parental attention, surprised the class with his picture. He drew a hand. Amused, classmates began to guess whose hand it was. Finally the teacher asked Douglas if he would like to tell whose hand it was. Softly he answered, “It’s yours, teacher.” Quickly she remembered how she had often taken Douglas by the hand and walked with him during recess. She had done so with the other children, but it obviously meant so much more to Douglas because he needed it.³

When you need assurance, the Holy Spirit offers His hand of counsel. When you need encouragement,… His hand of comfort; understanding,… His hand of teaching. You get the picture. Whenever you are in need, the Holy Spirit within you is there to take you by the hand and walk with you. He will walk with you till your stress becomes rest.

Others

The third course to be taken in God’s school of rest resembles the course on the Holy Spirit. Your lessons about the Holy Spirit teach you that whatever the need, He will supply His hand. However, God uses others to offer their hand as well. The third course teaches you to look toward others to help you find your rest. An Old Testament example is found in Joshua 1:12-15.

12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: ‘The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

God’s people enter the Promised Land in phases. Two and one half of the twelve tribes enter first. By securing the land, they help the other tribes experience rest as they enter the land. By working together, they experience God’s rest together.

A New Testament example comes from the confession of the Apostle Paul. In 2 Corinthians 7:5-7, he reveals how others helped him experience rest.

5 For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn-conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.

We all know of Paul’s feelings for the churches he helped start. Yet scholars have determined that Paul had developed an inner circle of friends that became a source of strength and rest. Titus, mentioned here, was but one of his close friends. Furthermore, it was Titus who brought Paul the words of encouragement from others. The sight of a friend and the encouragement of others allowed Paul to experience God’s school of rest.

Even the most independent introvert needs others to help provide rest. Sixty-two international studies on social relationships and health revealed that

… warm social ties and secure relationships can boost immune functions, improve the quality of life, and lower the risk of dying from cancer, coronary artery disease, and physical and mental health conditions at any age.⁴

The encouragement and support of others is a God-given means of rest. Therefore, you need to understand your responsibility to either find rest through the encouragement of others or supply rest as an encouragement to others.

Before you think that finding it is better than supplying it, consider Jamie Scott. Little Jamie was trying out for the school play. He had his heart set on being in the play, but his mother feared he would not get a part. When she picked him up from school the day of tryouts, Jamie came running to the car with an open-mouth smile. In a breathless tone of pride and excitement, he says, “Guess what, Mom, I’ve been chosen to clap and cheer.”⁵

We have all been chosen to clap and cheer for each other, for God knows we need it. In the fray of life’s disappointments, confusion and struggle, we need to be one or hear one who loves their role of clapping and cheering. We need to be one or hear one who becomes God’s source of rest.

Report Cards

I can still remember the mix of emotions when carrying my report cards home from school. If I had done well, I carried them and delivered them with pride. I knew praise and a hug were waiting. If I had done poorly, the walk was slow and fretful. I could almost hear the sermon being rehearsed. Every six weeks as report cards were to be taken home and signed, the walk was either heavy or light; it all depended on how I had done in school.

If God were to hand you a report card on rest, what would your grade be? How would you score on using your memory to give you rest? When unwanted, unchanging, and uncontrollable circumstances surface, do you hopelessly struggle, or do you remember the times God delivered you before and trust Him to deliver you again? Do you use your memory and rest?

How well would you score on resting with the Holy Spirit? When needing assurance, encouragement, reliability, understanding, verification, theology, correction, direction, or access to your Heavenly Father, how often have you reached for the hand of the Holy Spirit within you? How well have you learned to walk hand in hand with the Holy Spirit and experience God’s rest?

What would your grade be in experiencing God’s rest through others? When stressed, do you seek their company, trust their love and support and experience God’s rest? Furthermore, how would God grade you in being a source of rest for others? Like little Jamie Scott, do you say with excitement and pride, “God gave me the role today to clap and cheer”?

Though you do not have a literal report card in your hand, you can still tell what your grade would be—just watch your walk. If your walk is quick and light, you are doing pretty good. But if your walk is heavy and fretful, you are not doing so good. Therefore, let me remind you again of Jesus’ invitation. He rings the school bell and says,

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
– Matthew 11:28-30

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[1] Leonard Sweet, The Jesus Prescription for a Healthy Life (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 7.
[2] Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 2.
[3] Alice Gray, compiler, Stories for the Heart (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Books, 1996), 52
[4] Sweet, 39-40. Furthermore, read his footnote on page 206.
[5] Jack Cranfield and Mark Victor Hansen, compilers, A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for the Soul (Deerfield Beach, Florida: Health Communications, Inc., 1996), 239.