Read: Hebrews 4:9-11
“A Sabbath rest remains, therefore, for God’s people. For the person who has entered His rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His. Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.”
Understand:
- What remains for God’s people? A Sabbath rest
- What are we to rest from? Our own work
- Who also rested? God
- Why should we “make every effort to enter that rest?” So that we will not fall into a pattern of disobedience
Listen: Rest is defined by Merriam Webster’s Dictionary as “freedom from activity or labor.” When we think of rest, we often have this notion that resting means, perhaps, lying down for a nap or sitting awhile to read a book. If you continue looking in Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, another definition states “peace of mind or spirit.” Both of these, I believe are beneficial for a person. We work and work and work so, naturally, our bodies will get tired. But, if this work consumes us for so long that we refuse the physical rest there will come a time when our emotional, mental, and spiritual health will be weakened and we often get sick. Once those go down, I call that a crash and I’ve been there and done that. It isn’t that I can’t get up and go to work or clean my house or prepare meals for my family. It’s just that I feel like I’m operating on nothing. Yes, my body may be physically tired and lack energy but there remains an emptiness inside that no amount of napping can fill.
Romans 12 verses 1 and 2 tell us “Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” You see, our mind gets tired too. When you conform to what you think is expected in this world and don’t take the opportunity to seek rest and renewal for your mind, you are going to be thrown off course. For me, it was almost as if I could go through the motions of what I was supposed to do but there was nothing left inside me to enjoy it. In fact, I began resenting and allowing bitterness and frustration to crush me. Here is the problem, not only did I experience multiple (and I mean years of) emotional, mental, and spiritual crashes, it pulled me into a state of being where I didn’t even like myself. Finally, one day, I admitted to my husband that I just didn’t like who I had become. The one thing I knew for certain was that I was created in the image of God and yet I was not displaying those characteristics of Christ which I knew I should be. This goes back to Day 1 and those fruits I spoke about. See Matthew 7:16 explains that people will know me as a Christian based upon my fruits. In the next verse, verse 17, it continues with “every good tree bears good fruit.” My fruit was dried up and the decaying matter of resentment, bitterness, and frustration was becoming more obvious.
Now, why does this matter? Look back at our verse in Hebrews 4:11. We are to make an effort to enter God’s rest because, if we don’t, we will fall into a pattern of disobedience. God can’t bless disobedience. We are to be devoted to Christ and pursue that which helps us be more like Him. We can fall into a pattern of disobedience when we don’t rest and it is during this time that spiritual attacks will feed upon our weakness. 2 Corinthians 11:3 explains that we can be “deceived . . . by [the serpents or Satan’s] cunning” allowing our “minds [to] be corrupted from a complete and pure devotion to Christ.” God gives us a command to rest – to enter His rest. This doesn’t mean be lazy. It means take time to be still. Seek the peace of mind and spirit that comes from taking time with Christ, studying His word, and not allowing yourself to get caught up in the hub-bub (as I like to call the chaos we are exposed to and expected to live by in this world.) We are told directly not to allow ourselves to be conformed by this world (Romans 12:1-2) but to renew ourselves so we can live a life that is pleasing to God. That is the blessed life: one that is pleasing to God.
For me, this meant it was time for a change. Time to walk away from the hub-bub. Time to trust God and take that leap of faith, knowing He will take care of me and my family. It’s this leap of faith that I want to share with you. God is faithful. You don’t have to take my word for it. Read the Old Testament. There is historical documentation that verifies He never leaves us and is always faithful to take care of us when we live a life of obedience to His word.
I pray we can see documentation of God’s faithfulness – together.
Pray: Thank you, God, for this new season. Thank you for giving us proof that You are active and at work in our lives. Thank you for allowing us to experience Your faithfulness first-hand. Thank you for our faith in You. In Jesus name, we pray, Amen.
Majacka Literary Creations 