[This past we had an amazing speaker named Richard Dahlstrom come speak on Hebrews at Capernwray. The Lord spoke through him in so many ways to my heart, and so my hope is that maybe in some way you can be encouraged as I was. This is a bit from my journal assignment from this week.]
Entering God’s rest
“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God from His.” (4:9-10)
To enter into God’s rest we need to understand that
everything we could ever need is provided for, by our loving heavenly Father. We don’t have a care or concern that is
outside of His reach, or outside of His care.
In Matthew 6:25 Jesus tells us:
“Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life.”
Then jumping down
to Matthew 7:11:
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
Christ is asking us to come to Him
in faith like a child’s; which is unreserved, carefree, innocent, peaceful,
trusting, loving, pure, and secure in the provision of the Father,
knowing that no performance is needed for approval and acceptance.
If we don’t live with child-like faith we will never truly experience
the life of Christ in our lives. Children live in an attitude of expectation on
the provision of their fathers. This is
how God is asking us to live. He wants us to just relax and trust Him, while
He takes care of the rest. But with
living with childlike faith there is also a certain extent to which we must
live in activity as the Lord works and directs.
There needs to be an attitude of obedience to the Father, when He asks
us to do things. As in the story of Joshua and the Israelites
passing through the Jordan (Joshua 3), God told them to step into the water,
then the water would recede, allowing them to pass over to the other side on
dry ground. But the crucial point of
this story was their obedience, and that first step. Stepping into the water with faith knowing He
promised, and would fulfill, if only they trust. This is the same sort of faith that the Lord
is asking of us. To step into the waves
of life with an assurance that He will come through. It doesn’t mean it is going to be all easy
immediately. For the Israelites there
were armies to face on the other side of the river, but we see here that He
promised to walk through the river with them.
Isaiah 43:1-4 holds some key
promises to us for this very point:
“But now thus says the LORD, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the water, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD you God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you. ..Fear not, for I AM with you.”
To enter God’s rest, there is
always something that He is asking us to do.
We need to remember that it’s not the initial step of faith that will
bring us rest, but only God. So a
question to consider is what is my next step of faith in God and His work?
