What are the characteristics of someone whom God enjoys to rest upon?
“Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
2 For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,”
Says the Lord.
“But on this one will I look:
On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit,
And who trembles at My word. Isaiah 66:1-2
According to above scripture, the characteristic of that kind of person is that they are poor and contrite in spirit, and tremble at His word. Isaiah penned these verses centuries prior to Jesus coming to the earth. Jesus restated the issue of poverty of Spirit in the New Testament when He preached in what is now known as the Sermon on the Mount.
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3
Those who recognize their need for the Lord on a continual basis will see the Kingdom of God. When we first accepted Jesus, we had a poverty of Spirit that led us to Him. We recognized that we are in need of Him and without Him we can’t truly live. In the same vein, we can’t forget where God has brought us from, and that we are always in need of Him. When Jesus modeled the Lord’s Prayer to His disciples, He prayed that God would give them their “daily bread”. God has a joyful rest in a person whose main occupation is to be in awe of Him and who looks to Him daily for all things.
According to above scripture, the second characteristic of a restful place is someone with a contrite heart. Our heart condition can be very tricky. When things are tough, it’s easy to have a contrite heart, but when things are going well, we can get haughty. In good times, thinking that somehow we have arrived can easily deceive our heart. Some people show up to church only when they are in a time of great need. They have a contrite heart and are willing to receive and listen for a while. However, once the pain subsides or their problem goes away, you don’t hear or see them again. That’s why the scripture tells us to guard our hearts with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23).
The third characteristic of a resting place for God is one who trembles at His word. As a New Testament believer, we enjoy and appreciate God’s love, but sometimes we forget that it is because of His holiness that Jesus had to pay the price to be crucified. God never changed His standards in order to have a relationship with us. We can’t ignore/minimize His standard of holiness now that we are His sons/daughters.
I love my children dearly, but in no way do I want them to take my instruction/direction casually. My instruction is for their benefit, and I have a greater peace when they are doing right. God cannot rest in a place where He is not honored. Sloppiness and being casual with God will not produce peace in our lives neither does it prepare a joyful place of rest for God!
The Lord has everything He wants and needs, but He doesn’t have us automatically. What a pleasure and honor for the Lord to find a joyful resting place in us!