What a verse, Isaiah 11:2, in reference to the Holy Spirit.

“And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him (Jesus, the Messiah), the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”

The first clause is our emphasis today.

The Holy Spirit “resting” on our Lord!

The verb employed here is “nuach,” meaning “to settle down, to remain, to make quiet (peaceful),” and even once “to be confederate!”

“And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him.”

Now when the Spirit first came to me, He did not rest!

In fact, He produced unrest!

He “hovered” over my chaos!

He convicted me of sin.

He sought to frighten me with threats of divine punishment, of Hell itself!

But Jesus had no sin!

The Spirit never convicted our Lord of anything, our PERFECT Lord!

I believe the Holy Spirit “conceived” Jesus! In rest, I might add. “And the angel (Gabriel) answered and said unto her (Mary, the Virgin), The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35

The Holy Spirit gave Jesus peace, “rest,” when Mary and Joseph had left Him behind in the Temple. At age 12, you remember.

The Spirit rested on Jesus during the 40 days of Temptation, too.

And even at Calvary, where Hebrews 9:14 says Jesus “offered Himself” (shed His Blood) “through the eternal Spirit,” the Holy Spirit of God!

Furthermore … and astoundingly … Jesus offers to give us that Rest now!

Once we are saved. Born again.

Matthew 11:28 records His words: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Rest!

The Fruit of the Spirit includes “peace,” says Paul in Galatians 5:22.

Are YOU resting in the Spirit today?

Better yet, is He resting in you?

REST in the security of your salvation as this Wednesday comes and goes.

REST in the blessings of answered prayer, too!

REST in the fact that you know (personally) the Rest Giver, the Holy Spirit of God!

One more time …

“And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him.”

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell