Hebrews 4:9,10 “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”
The life of a believer has many difficulties. The journey was never meant to be easy as some have suggested. The promise of traveling through valleys of the shadow of death should be an expectation and yet many people question God when life is hard.
The work of a man or woman of God is noble. The honor of representing the King of kings is a badge not to be taken lightly. Some think that following Christ is a pathway toward easy living, increased riches, and blessings forevermore. When life continues to be difficult, hatred stirs from the people you once regarded as friends, and spiritual attacks arrive daily, the life of expected ease is revealed to be a lie from the prosperity preachers who spoke them.
The work of a believer is set and established by God. When the work is finished, it is because God declared it so. The faithful witness doesn’t start the work or even establish it, that was ordained by God, fueled by the power of His Spirit, and completed by the work of Christ. Implementing the work is an honor that God has bestowed upon His people, those called to represent Him before the world.
When the work is done and the water of life has been poured out like an offering before the throne of God, then God rewards His people with the rest He has ordained for them. It is a good rest, worthy of honor and reward.
Whether you are just beginning your work or it is about to be completed, you can be assured, you don’t walk alone.
Hebrews 4:11 “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”
Rest is a condition of importance first established by God. The importance was such that it was confined to a sacred day. The Sabbath day is an occasion that God Himself observed. He likewise incorporated it into a pattern for His people.
Purposeful Rest
Genesis 2:2 “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.”
A the end of a time of great wisdom displayed and a course of life written in time for a purpose, God Himself abstained from His work. He looked upon His Creation and declared it good. In like manner, God’s people are commanded to act as God has done.
Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
As God rested, so must His people.
Later the Lord commanded the land to rest as well.
Leviticus 25:3,4 “Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.”
On and on the Lord instituted rest into the culture of His people. The Sabbath year occurred every 7th year, while the year of Jubilee was a time of rest every 50 years. These commands were important enough for God to bring judgement upon Israel when disobeyed.
Why would resting be so important to the Lord?
Could it be when we stay too busy and concerned with the affairs of life, we miss the truly important element of relationship with God? There is likewise purpose in recognizing God’s goodness, in seeing the work of His hand in life and simply stopping and worshipping.
God’s people are Holy unto Him. They do not work for themselves, they are to be working for a greater purpose. If we make our income or our happiness our primary focus, we might miss the eternal purposes God has ordained for our lives.
Ordained Rest
Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
God the Father has given His Son as a propitiation for the sins of mankind. Sinning is a process of striving without purpose and without an end by offending God’s law. It seeks an ideal that carries no reward and serves a master that is cruel and uncaring. For all who strive under sins power, they bear the weight of suffering and loss.
Jesus has given a greater purpose for mankind to experience and receive. He takes the weight of sin and leads His people into rest. They are free from the toils of life and He bears the weight on His shoulders.
Matthew 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
The weight of responsibility in God’s Kingdom is made bearable to His people. He strengthens them along the way, and He doesn’t place an undue burden they could not handle.
The Lord is a good master, and He leads His people in love.
For those who reject Christ, the torment of their suffering and anguish of their burdens will never be removed. The striving will continue forever and rest will only be a fainting thought.
Revelation 14:11 “And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
Woe to those who reject so great of a salvation, their torment will never cease.
Psalm 95:11 “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ”
Eternal Rest
The work of God’s people has its final reward. For those who live for Christ, the difficulty of living in a fallen world will conclude with a declaration.
Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
The final rest of God’s people will be when they enter the gates of Heaven. The resting place of God becomes the resting place of His people.
Psalm 62:1-2 “In God alone my soul finds rest; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress; I will never be shaken.”
Have you been tormented by Satan’s attacks, or has your life been a struggle that never seems to end?
There is a rest for your soul. You can know it now, and you will know it for the rest of your life.
Trust your life to Christ and you will experience the peace that only He can give.
U.T. 