A few days ago, I started reading St Augustine’s autobiography, Confessions. There is a famous line from the first page that I’ve had hanging over my window for some time and I suddenly thought to read the whole book. The line goes: Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.

Restlessness makes us grab for more

Do you ever just want more? You eat your favourite food, but it’s not enough. You get a dream job, but it still not enough. You find someone to love and get married, but sometimes, it still feels as if there could be more. Your heart settles a little then after a while, what made it settle does not seem to be sufficient anymore.

In the same way, we see the wars and turmoil around us. We lament at the greed and corruption in positions of authority, asking “Don’t they have enough money and property?”. It is the restlessness that makes us grab for more.

Rest is found in our designer

This restlessness in the heart of humanity can only be satisfied by dwelling in our creator. Every single thing in existence was made for him and his purpose. As Revelations 4:11 says, “for you [God] created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being”.

Our rest can only be found in the plan our designer has for us. Only an engineer can understand the full functionality of their invention, so it is with us and God.

But sin has set things out of joint. Sin is our desire to do things our own way outside of God, or only inviting him to bless decisions we made by ourselves. This is the source of all the strife we see around us today.

Stop roaming and start groaning

Yet, when we commit ourselves to God and dwell in his will for our lives, our restlessness turns to groaning. Yes, we stop roaming around looking for peace because our satisfaction comes from our creator who knows us best.

However, we groan inwardly to God with all of creation, as we wait for that perfect day when there will be a “glorious freedom from death and decay” (Romans 8:21), just as God planned from the beginning.

And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering.
Romans 8:23

I wrote this article for Our Daily Bread Africa and it originally published in May 2022.

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