Entering into His Rest

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.... Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. -- Hebrews 4:9,11

God’s rest. When we think of rest many of us envision lying on a beautiful beach on a tropical island or snuggling up by a cozy fire. We think of peace, quiet, tranquility, and contentment. We think of all our needs being met and having the very desires of our hearts. Many of us think of no one calling our names or requiring something from us. So, in the midst of a global pandemic, racial injustices and civil unrest, a contentious election year, job losses and economic challenges – rest may seem like an alien concept. And yet, the Scripture in Hebrews Chapter 4, admonishes us to labor to rest. So, for some of us of are already feeling overwhelmed and like we are barely keeping things together—even resting becomes another chore or task. In other words, something extra we have to do. But exactly what is the rest that God is talking about? And how do we enter it?

The third and fourth chapters of Hebrews compare God’s rest with the children of Israel entering the Promised Land. That land was to be a place where their every need would be met, a place of freedom from their warring enemies, a place no one would ever drive them from again. All they had to do was go in and possess it. But something kept them from it: unbelief and disobedience.

As believers, we too, have the opportunity to enter a promised land of abundance and peace. A land where we can rest from our struggles and enjoy the victory of God. To enter it we must do what the children of Israel failed to do. We must simply trust God and obey His voice.

How do we come to that place of trust and obedience? By getting to know our Father. By spending time fellowshipping with Him in prayer and in the Word. That is the labor that will brings us into His rest! It is difficult to trust and rest in a God that we don’t know. The enemy loves to try to use the circumstances of life to crowd God out of our lives or to at least push God into the background. But whenever we put any circumstance in front of our God, we cease to rest in Him—the situation becomes magnified instead of the God we say we serve, and love being magnified.

But when we shift our gaze, when we focus in on the one who created us and lovingly maintains us, the perspective shifts. The looming problems pale in comparison and we can see beyond our situations. The enemy would love to stress us out and overwhelm us, but we combat that by actively pursuing our God and resting in His heart toward us. When we pursue God in studying His Word, prayer, fasting, worship, and praise, not only are we able to rest in Him, but He often reveals strategies. We are able to move from the valley of doubt and unbelief and to have the faith to apprehend and walk into His promises.

When we begin to labor to know the Father instead of just knowing about Him, He reveals Himself to us. He gives us glimpses of His heart, His nature and His love. He changes our striving into peace, our doubt into trust, our fear into bold obedience, and enables us to enter His rest.

Get to know your Father. Work at it. Make it your “labor.” He has a promised land of rest that is waiting for you!