GOD’S PROMISED REST

“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his” (Hebrews 4:9-10).

You may wonder, “What does it mean to enter this promised rest? What should it look like in my life?” I pray that God will remove the scales from our eyes and allow us to grasp this. Simply put, entering into his promised rest means fully trusting that Christ has done all the work of salvation for you. You’re to rest in his saving grace, by faith alone.

This is what Jesus means when he urges, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It means the end of all your fleshly striving, all your human efforts to obtain peace. And it means relying totally on Jesus’ work for you.

Our battle is not against flesh and blood. It takes place in the spiritual realm. The Old Testament makes this crystal clear. Time after time, Israel made empty, futile promises to God: “We want to serve you, Lord. We’ll do whatever you command us.” But history proves they had neither the heart nor the ability to follow through on their word. God had to strip them of all faith in themselves. Everything we need is to come from our precious Lord’s presence.

Paul states, “In him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). This speaks of uninterrupted fellowship. Through the victory of the cross, our Lord has made himself available to us every hour of the day or night. We have to make a decision: “I want Christ in my life. I want to be set free from all flesh. So I’m going to move forward, into his presence and claim my possession. I want Jesus to be my all, my only source of satisfaction.”