Passage: 2 Samuel 7:8-16
Speaker: Mitch Kim
Series: Come, Lord Jesus
Longing For Rest
Is Advent a prolonging of the joy of Christmas? We love the joy of Christmas—gathering with loved ones with food and gifts to celebrate Christ. So does Advent simply prolong that joy? No. Advent is not a prolonging of the joy of Christmas; Advent cultivates and deepen our longing for Christmas…and Christ. And Advent 2020 is particularly poignant as this year has laid bare so many of our longings. We long for rest when work feels incessant. We long for deliverance when we see injustice prevalent. We long for healing as COVID-19 spreads so much destruction. We long for joy when discouragement sets in. What is our hope in the midst of these longings? Our hope is not in the appearing of a vaccine but in the appearing of Christ in glory. So this Advent let us focus our longings not in getting through this COVID season but focusing our longings on their fulfillment in Christ. This week we will look at our longing for rest, since God promises rest for our longings for significance, home, and a family.
First God promises rest for our longings for significance (2 Sam 7:8–9). These verses describe God’s promise to David, a lowly shepherd, to “make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth” (7:9). We similarly long for a name and significance in our lives, as God promised to David. Yet ultimately even David’s name points forward to the name above all names, Jesus, before which every knee will bow ( Phil 2:9–11). Ultimately our significance is not found in the greatness of our accomplishments but the greatness of our Savior, Jesus.
Also God promises rest for our longing for home (2 Sam 7:10–11). When you have no home, you long for a place to call home. God promises to make a house and provide rest from their enemies in the place that He establishes for them. Yet ultimately Jerusalem is not the home for God’s people; they are taken into exile, and the city is destroyed. Ultimately, though, their place and home is found in the presence of Jesus who prepares a place for them in his Father’s house (John 14:2).
Finally God promises rest for our longing for a family (2 Sam 7:12–16). God not only promises a place, he promises offspring who will continue the kingdom forever, sustained by his steadfast love. David is part of a far larger family line of God’s purposes, culminating in Jesus. We long for our lives to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, and God grafts us into his family through faith in Jesus (cf Rom 11:17, 24).
So what? This season exposes our longing for rest. We long for significance when our labor feels futile. We long for home when we feel that we have no place for ourselves. And we long for family, to be a part of something far bigger than ourselves. All of these longings point forward to Jesus — in His name, we find significance; in His presence we find our home and heart’s rest; with His people we find our family. May our longings for rest draw us closer to Jesus in this season!