Psalm 46: Stop Wandering and Enter God's Rest

Introduction

"Be still, and know that I am God." This verse from Psalm 46 is everywhere: on walls, on coffee mugs, on notebook covers, on bookmarks and on the back of T-shirts. Pastor Peter, invited to preach at Ryde Baptist Church in Australia, asked God what he should say. The answer was this very well-known verse.

Pastor Peter arrived in Australia in 2005. Three years ago he founded Good and Faithful Community Church, a young church that grew out of the Burmese community. That day he is preaching in a church that devotes the month to Sabbath rest.

Rather than starting with rest, he starts with its opposite: the restlessness of the wanderer. Then he shows that God finished everything, from creation to the cross, and that he still invites us today to enter his rest.

Message Outline

1. Cain, the First Restless Wanderer

Cain and Abel each bring an offering. God accepts Abel's, but not Cain's. Out of jealousy, Cain kills his brother: it is the first murder recorded in the Bible.
The sentence falls: "You will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth." Cain answers: "My punishment is greater than I can bear. [...] I will be hidden from your face" (Genesis 4:12-14).
A wanderer, the pastor explains, goes from place to place, with no fixed destination and no permanent home. He is driven by an inner search, by flight, by a deep spiritual restlessness.
There are many modern wanderers. "If you don't know how to recognize God's presence and his provision, you will be restless." So we try to replace God's grace with material things: relationships, money, power, business, the race for success. The result: no peace, no rest, no satisfaction.
Some don't show it: from the outside everything looks calm, but inside they are agitated. The pastor invites everyone to say to their neighbor: "Don't be a restless wanderer."

2. Rest Is Part of Creation

The pastor walks back through the days of creation: the light separated from the darkness, the sky, the sea and the land with its vegetation, the sun, the moon and the stars, the fish and the birds, then the animals and human beings on the sixth day.
On the seventh day, God rests. He looks at what he has made, and it is very good (Genesis 1:31; 2:2-3).
"Was God exhausted? I don't think so. Was he tired? Not at all." He is the Almighty God. He rested because creation was complete: the work was done and finished. Creation came "with rest included."
"Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Genesis 2:7). The pastor recalls the worship song from the service: it is his breath in our lungs.

3. Man's First Day Was a Day of Rest

God did not create a baby, but a grown man, then a grown woman. The man was ready to work. Yet on the day after his creation, his first full day was a day of rest.
Resting is not simply lying down to sleep. It is hearing God say: "I have finished everything for you. I provide for everything you need. Enjoy my creation and rest."
Imagine your first day at a new job: you arrive full of enthusiasm, and your manager tells you to rest. "That doesn't happen." With God, it does.
God did everything alone. If he had needed an assistant, he would have created man on the first day, to help him separate the freshwater fish from the saltwater fish or to water the plants. Man would then have taken part of the credit.
God's rest means resting in his power, in his authority, in his provision, in his presence and in the work he has finished for us.

4. "It Is Finished": The Rest of Redemption

In Genesis 3, disobedience brings sin into the world. Man must leave the presence of the holy God.
But God already announces his plan of redemption: the woman's offspring will crush the serpent's head, and the serpent will wound his heel (Genesis 3:15). For the pastor, this is fulfilled at the cross, where Satan wounds the heel, and at the resurrection, where his head is crushed.
On the cross, three words change human destiny forever: "It is finished" (John 19:30). In pain, shame and suffering, Jesus declares that the mission for which he came down to earth is complete.
After offering one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:12). "When the work is done, you can sit down." He is the perfect sacrifice and the high priest forever.
As at creation, God did everything alone: he paid our debt, the wages of sin, he faced death and defeated it. "We repaid nothing." We receive his grace by faith.
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Following the pattern of creation, every time there is a new creation, rest follows.

5. Don't Reverse the Order of Matthew 6

You might object: "In this life I need to survive, I need money, look at how successful other people are." The pastor answers: God knows that, because he created you, restored you and redeemed you.
"Which of you, by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan?" (Matthew 6:27). No one. And God, who did not spare his own Son, will also give us all things with him (Romans 8:32).
He tells of the time, around 2002-2003, when he was preparing his student visa application for Australia from Myanmar and writing his emails from an internet café. His cousin replied "no worries," then "no sweat" to tell him someone would come to pick him up. Used to American English and "no problem," he thought "no sweat" was about cold weather.
"No worries" is part of Australian life, and it is also a principle of God: "But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don't be anxious for tomorrow" (Matthew 6:33-34).
The problem is that we reverse the text: "Seek all these things first, and the Kingdom and righteousness will be given to you as well." When you first seek what God wants to give, worry and restlessness settle in.
We look at those who have more money, a better job, a nicer house in a good neighborhood, and we think we are behind. Envy grows, jealousy grows. The pastor reminds us that it was out of jealousy that Cain killed his brother before becoming a wanderer. "Don't try to rewrite the Bible your own way."

6. The God of the Past, the Present and Eternity

God knows that you sometimes worry, that you are under pressure, that you are short on time. He says to you: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).
He takes care of your past and your present, and he prepares your eternal future. Knowing this brings peace, hope, confidence and rest. This is how we live the Sabbath rest: staying in the present, knowing what he is preparing for us.
"Don't let your heart be troubled. [...] In my Father's house are many homes. [...] I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself" (John 14:1-3).
The pastor offers an image, not to be taken too seriously: if Jesus had said he was preparing only fifty places for Ryde Baptist Church, everyone would be agitated and wondering whether they are on the list. But there are many homes, more than enough. "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies" (John 11:25). God gives us a complete guarantee, for this life and for the one to come. "What more do we need?"

7. The Invitation to Enter His Rest Still Stands

"Let's fear therefore, lest perhaps anyone of you should seem to have come short of a promise of entering into his rest" (Hebrews 4:1). The door is still open.
"There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For he who has entered into his rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. Let's therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience" (Hebrews 4:9-11).
Disobedience drove people away from God. Through Jesus, we come back, and he invites us into his rest. He is sovereign, and he has overcome the world (John 16:33).
"Don't get stuck on the words. Don't be content to drink from the mug, wear the T-shirt or write with the pen that has the verse printed on it." Let "Be still, and know that I am God" become part of your life.
The choice is yours: stay in his presence and accept his invitation, or remain a restless wanderer. Not only this month, he concludes, but for the rest of our lives.

Key Takeaways

Anyone who does not recognize God's presence and provision becomes a restless wanderer, even if nothing shows on the outside.
God rested not out of tiredness, but because his work was finished. Man's first full day was a day of rest.
At creation and at the cross, God did everything alone. "It is finished": we receive his grace by faith.
Worry is born when we reverse Matthew 6:33 and seek things first instead of God's Kingdom.
The invitation to enter God's rest still stands: "Come to me, and I will give you rest."

Personal Application

In which area of your life are you a restless wanderer, even if no one sees it?
What are you trying to use to fill the lack of God's presence: money, success, a relationship, your work?
Have you reversed the order of Matthew 6:33? What do you actually seek first in your days?
Where does comparison with others make envy grow in your heart?
How can you take a real time of rest in God's presence this week, remembering that it is finished?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "Be still, and know that I am God" mean in Psalm 46?

For Pastor Peter, this verse should not remain a phrase on a mug, a T-shirt or a wall hanging. It means recognizing God's presence and provision, staying in his presence and accepting his invitation: "Come to me, and I will give you rest."

Why did God rest on the seventh day?

God was neither exhausted nor tired: he is almighty. He rested because creation was complete. Man, created on the sixth day, spent his first full day in rest: God had made everything for him, without his help, so that he could enjoy his creation.

What is a "restless wanderer" today?

Cain became a fugitive and a wanderer after killing his brother out of jealousy. The preacher sees many modern wanderers: people who do not recognize God's presence and try to fill that void with money, power, relationships or success, without finding peace or satisfaction.