Journal 2019

Many years ago, at a former church, our brave choir director decided to lead our ragtag group in Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. Unfortunately, some were following the sheet music instead of watching the conductor, so when he miscounted the hallelujah repeats at the end, several in the choir failed to follow his lead. Those who were watching our leader stopped on cue, withholding the last required note before the pause. What ensued was not a grand and glorious waiting of our collective breaths before the final crescendo, but a weak, disruptive, frown-producing squeak by the few who weren’t watching. I could see the pain on the director’s face as he later berated us for not keeping our eyes on him and following his lead. I don’t think he ever realized he was at fault for miscounting, but the choir was at fault for not watching him. Thus, the piece was marred and flawed. It lost its breathless anticipation before the grand and glorious conclusion.

Rest is not about doing nothing. It’s recovery. It’s anticipation. It’s the silent beat before the final hallelujah. It reminds me of the passage in Revelation 8:1 (Net). “Now when the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.”

Sometimes resting is harder to do than acting.

Lord, in the coming year, teach me to keep my eyes on You, my conductor. I want to follow You no matter what I see written in front of me. If You change things up, then I trust You. I want to remain in step with Your baton and make beautiful music together for the Kingdom.

Further thoughts

As I started to brainstorm the topic of rest, I came up with this list.

• There are rest notes in music.
• Rest is needed after an injury.
• One must rest after a race, exertion, or a battle.
• We’ll receive final spiritual rest in heaven.
• Rest means a mental break after concentration and before the next activity.
• In physics, it refers to an object being stationary relative to a particular frame of reference.
• The Hebrew word for rest is nuach. It means “to rest, to be quiet, to cease.” (e.g. Shabbat)
• In Greek, the word is anapausis, which means “cessation or refreshment.”

Webster defines the verb to rest as:

1. To cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength. Ease up, slow down, unbend, unwind, recharge.
2. To be placed or supported so as to stay in a specified position. For example, her elbow was resting on the arm of the sofa. “A still point of peace.”

Hymn: Jesus, I am resting, resting