The Way To Please God Is Not By Our Work, It Is By Our Rest.

Guest Blogger:  Pastor Adam Berge


What do you do to find rest? Do you read a book, take a nap, or watch TV? Maybe if you are a farmer, rest is just something you do at your funeral. When I was a carpenter I found rest on a nice chair in the air conditioning. As a pastor, I find rest out in the sun doing a project. Maybe rest is simply the opposite of work.


Do you view going to church as work or rest? Do you go to church because you think it will make God happy? Sometimes people feel the burden of pleasing God because deep down they don’t know whether or not God is pleased with them. They think that they can please God by doing some work, perhaps even by going to church. This common but wrong way of thinking will never give you rest; it will either make you very anxious or very proud. 


The way to please God is not by our work, it is by our rest. Well, to be more specific, the way to please God is by resting in the work of Jesus. This is called faith or trust. What is the work of Jesus? The work of Jesus was to live the perfect life God requires of us, and to die in our place because we have all sinned. He completed the work that we were supposed to do. 


Rest is the opposite of work. Jesus said, “come to me and I will give you rest.” When we go to church we don’t try to work to please God, but rather we hear and trust what Jesus has done on our behalf. This is pleasing to God and gives us true spiritual rest.