Missing God’s Rest

“So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. 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 3:19-4:1-3

“There remains therefore a Sabbath 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. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. ” Hebrews 4:9-11

Most of Israel failed to enter the rest of the Promised Land, overflowing with Milk and Honey and God’s provisions and blessings. Their unbelief led to them dying in the wilderness. However, we who have trusted Christ do not have to wander in the wilderness and come short of God’s rest, even this side of Heaven. We have a promise of ultimately entering that rest at the time of our faith in Christ and someday that will gain us entrance into Heaven where we will be completely free from sin and perfectly at rest. However, the question remains are we going to choose to enter that Sabbath rest in our daily walk while we still live on earth? Do we want to fight a losing battle in our own strength against our flesh and walk wearily and unhappily through our days not appropriating the rest that has been given to us?

This rest means an end to self-effort and trying to please God through one’s own works. It involves being free from worries, finding inner peace, and experiencing the fact of total forgiveness where you are no longer burdened by guilt or anxiety about past sin or problems in your life. Rather, you are relying on Christ to allow you to live the promised (and indeed expected) holy and worry-free life for those that are led by the Spirit. God has promised to carry our burdens and give us rest (Matthew 11:28) if we will let Him. Charles Finney put it this way “When one ceases from his own works, he so perfectly gives up his own interest and his own will, and places himself so perfectly under the dominion and guidance of the Holy Spirit, that whatever he does is done by the impulse of the Spirit of Christ.”

This rest resembles God’s Sabbath rest. This was the rest God took after His creation. This does not mean rest from activity, as God has been continuously active after creation, but rather it involves a sense of completion. Likewise, our faith in God allows us to cease from our own works and let God take complete control of our life. As the new year dawns there still remains a rest for many of us to enter into. The same rest we will one day have perfectly in Heaven. The only difference is our flesh will tempt us down here to fall back into our own strength and ruin if we do not consistently walk in the leading of the Spirit. Let us fear to miss this blessed rest because of unbelief.