Have you heard the phrase no rest for the weary? Do you get weary from your work? And do you sometimes wonder when there will be an end in sight?
I wonder about these things too. There are long workdays, chores at home, volunteer activities to coordinate, and writing to complete. Weeks sometimes blend together in an endless repeat cycle.
So what does no rest for the weary mean? If we aren’t getting rest, who is and who isn’t? Can we ever get to rest?
No Rest for the Weary Meaning
Dictionary.com defines no rest from the weary as “You keep on persevering no matter how tired you are.”
While this is encouraging to keep on going, you don’t get rest. Or at least not yet.
No Rest for the Weary: Not for the Wicked
A variant of this is “there is no rest for the wicked.” This comes from this verse:
“There is no peace” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
This means that the wicked will have eternal punishment and therefore, no peace or rest.
It is thought this phase also extends to one who is never done with working. That is not a correct interpretation of this scripture. I would stick with the idiom of “no rest for the weary” to describe endless work with no rest instead of this one.
The main key know is that the wicked won’t get rest for all of eternity.
No Rest for the Weary: Not for those without Good Sense
Another group of people who won’t have rest are those who lack good sense.
One who wanders from the way of good sense will rest in the assembly of the dead. Proverbs 21:16 ESV
The Hebrew word for “good sense” is Sakal. This word means those who “act wisely.” The opposite of being wise is a fool. Those who act like fools are those who will have rest but not the kind of rest we’d enjoy. Their rest is with the dead or the place of eternal torment, hell.
Not for the Lazy
Solomon talks about a man who lacks sense. He is a foolish man who was lazy.
His vineyard is overgrown with weeds and thorns and the wall around it is broken down (Proverbs 24:30-32 ESV).
Since this man is lazy in how he tends his vineyard, his sleep won’t be restful. He will find that he won’t profit anything and will be poor. It will spring upon him like being robbed.
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
Not for those with Selfish Ambition
We found out that in selfish ambition this persons work is about desiring to get ahead and they work to glorify themselves.
They work so hard and are consumed by their work. But we find that this person is not satisfied with their work. Instead, they are upset, irritated, and even angry. So much so that they don’t really rest at night.
For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
Solomon said this vanity is a chasing after the wind. He may have profit in this life from his work but he won’t profit anything after he dies. He is another who may be in that unrestful place of never-ending torment.
Who can have Rest?
So if the wicked, the fools, the lazy, and the selfish can’t have rest, who can?
Those who have faith in God and fear Him as the Sovereign ruler over the earth. These people have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and are called righteous because of what Jesus did on the Cross.
The Righteous can have Rest
Even those who are upright can have troubled times and not have rest. Job said:
I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, but trouble comes.”
But Job got through his tough times and God blessed him even more. God’s Word says that the Lord blessed even more than the blessings he had before (Job 42:12 ESV).
Believers who Fear the Lord can have Rest
Those who have a reverential fear of the Lord are those who believe in God as our sovereign ruler of the earth. When we have that type of good fear, we can rest with satisfaction. We know that He has control over everything going on. And this contentment won’t allow us to be disrupted from evil.
The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.
No Rest for the Weary: Those who Follow Christ will Receive Rest
Jesus gives us an invitation to come to Him when we are weary and He will give us rest.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The Greek word for rest is anapauo. It means to permit a person to cease having movement or do labor so they will recover and gain back their strength.
I love that! I don’t know about you, but there are days that I am weary and would just like to take a break. And to have your strength renewed would be great, too.
When we used to go on a bike trip that was 185 miles over three days, there were times when I could have used an extra dose of God’s strength to get me up those hills! And days when it was 90+ degrees, I wanted a rest stop to come much sooner than it did. There are many times on the bike trip that I would reach out to God and ask Him for strength. I couldn’t have done it without Him!
The Yoke is Necessary
When you have more than one animal pulling a cart or plow, it shares the load of the weight and allows the animals to carry more weight than if they had done it alone. The yoke is necessary to get the task completed.
Yoke in the Greek, zygos, means balance. That explains how the weight can be distributed on the shoulders of the animals to allow them to carry the additional weight.
For us, faith in Jesus allows us to have the weight or burdens we are carrying to be balanced out. It gives us the extra strength to go on.
And Jesus said that His yoke is easy and the burden is light. That is what we want! Strength to continue on. And a ‘yoke’ of faith that makes the task a simple one. And the labor that we have seems like no trouble at all.
Rest for the Weary IS Possible!
While rest isn’t possible for some because of disobedience, rest is possible for others. Rest is given to those who are obedient and have faith in God. They are contented in this life because of the fear that they have of the Lord. And they know when to ask God and Jesus for help to balance the burden out and give them rest. A rest that strengthens and refreshes them to continue on. And when this life is done, they will have eternal rest in heaven with God for all of eternity!
If you are weary, call out to Jesus to give you rest and make your burden light. He will strengthen you and lighten your load so the rest of your day is easier to tackle.
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