A dear old Christian lady had been laid aside with illness for some time. One day, when she was getting better, a visitor, a. young lady, called to cheer her in the name of Christ.
"You see, my dear, I am a little better," said the old woman. "The doctor said when he was here, that I might get up a while and sit in the armchair. I told him: 'Sir,' said I, 'I ain't got no armchair!'. He looked round; and, said he: 'No more you have;'".
"But you do have an armchair," suggested the visitor, brightly. The old lady looked doubtful. "Does the Bible not say, 'Underneath are the Everlasting Arms'? (Deut. 33:2727The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. (Deuteronomy 33:27).) The Lord is your resting place.”
"Well now, and so He be." And the aged one laughed happily at the thought. Indeed she was so pleased that she told the doctor when he next came round.
"You need not fear breaking this armchair," added the young lady. "It is strong and immovable, and will bear your full and entire weight.”
Where does this Chair stand? Not in the tabernacle of works. There was no resting place there. The work was never finished; but when Christ had purged our sins, "He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." (Heb. 1:33Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3).) There He now "sitteth" (Col. 3:11If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)), and we who are His are made "to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Eph. 2:66And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 2:6).) Thus the weary, worn, and sad can sing: "I find in Him a resting place.”
Resting in Christ brings Him honor. When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon, the sitting of his servants was as wonderful as the attendance of his ministers (1 Kings 10:55And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her. (1 Kings 10:5).); and it is equally true in the court of the greater-than-Solomon. The quiet, calm, and peace of a Christian is a marvel to the world.
There is one resting place—only one. Yet all may make it their own. That resting place is Christ Himself:— not His disciples, His teaching, or His wonders; but Himself. Not feelings, not experience, not friends; just Himself! Many small chairs perhaps, but only one great, restful Armchair. "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." Psa. 37:77Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. (Psalm 37:7).
"Oh, 'tis precious, very precious,
To lean on Jesus' breast;
For when the pilgrim heart is weary
'Tis the only place of rest!”
Our invalid was weak, and therefore the doctor recommended the armchair. How good of the Lord to make provision for His weak ones by providing rest for them! Chariots for warriors; but an armchair for the feeble, and the much-afraid. If you cannot sing, "Stand up, stand up for Jesus," then sing, "Sweetly I'm resting in Jesus"!
He is not only our Leader and Commander, but also the Giver of rest.