March 26, 2009
Entering God’s Rest
Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of
you seem to have come short of it.
For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which
they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard
it. For we who have believed do
enter that rest. Hebrews 4:1-3
God’s rest. What is that? Let’s define it. The first time the Bible speaks of
God resting was in Genesis 2:1-2. Thus the heavens
and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day
God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all
His work which He had done. We know that His resting was not due to
exhaustion or needing a break. Isaiah 40:28 tells us,
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The
everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints
nor is weary.” Rather His rest is a ceasing from labor and toil. It means
the work is finished, done, completed.
Too often, we continue to strive, work, and worry through our circumstances.
When Jesus died on the cross, He said it was finished. Jesus finished the work
He was sent to do to redeem mankind from curse of sin. Hebrews 10:12 tells us,
“But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice
for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.” Jesus is sitting
down, because He has finished the work. He is resting. We can also enter that
rest. We do not need to be anxious or try to work in our strength for the
victory over the enemy. We already have the victory in Christ Jesus. No matter
what we face, we are victorious!
The enemy would like you to doubt this and he does everything within his power
to cause fear, anxiety, worry, and panic to throw us into unbelief. Unbelief is
the opposite of faith. It is doubting the Word of God that tells us we already
have the victory over the enemy. But Hebrews 11:1-2 defines faith as
“the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen.” That means that by faith we are going to know we have
the victory before it is seen. This is trusting God and knowing that no matter
what the results look like, we are in the hands of God and are victorious in ALL
things. When you believe this, the enemy cannot move you. You have entered the
rest of God. You have a peace that passes all understanding.
You may know the Word of God, but Hebrews 4:3 says the knowledge of the Word
must be mixed with faith for it to profit you. We must believe the Word not just
know it to enter God’s rest. If we believe it, we will not worry, fret, or panic
when the enemy throws darts our way. We will be simply enter into God’s rest.
Entering God’s rest doesn’t mean we are inactive. Hebrews 4:11 tells us we must
be diligent to enter that rest and continues to speak of the living Word and its
power. That means we must fight the enemy’s lies with the truth of God’s Word
mixing it with faith. The rest is the ceasing from labor and toil on our part as
if we could accomplish the victory. Jesus finished the work and we remind the
enemy that it is through the blood of Christ that the victory is already won.
When we are in need of help, we go boldly before the throne of grace to obtain
that which we have need of.
What do you have need of today? Enter the rest of God, knowing and believing the
work is finished. You do not have a need to fret, worry, or figure it out.
The Great I AM is your source.
God Bless.
Janet Fairbrother