Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. ~Hebrews 4:1 (NIV)
God’s Sabbath rest is not the Promised Land, and it is not a day of the week. But the Lord does use both of these as examples in the fourth chapter of Hebrews to teach us about His rest and show us how to enter into it. It is by faith that we enter into the rest of God, but what is God’s rest? God’s rest is a covenant relationship with His son Jesus. When we believe the gospel and ask Jesus into our hearts, we cease from the labors of trying to care for and protect ourselves. We trust that the Lord has accomplished everything, and we have all that we need, and we live under the shadow of God’s protection. God’s rest is a place of contentment where peace abounds. It is life abundant. We will never comprehend this side of heaven the enormous magnitude of accomplishment that occurred when Jesus took His last breath on that cross and said, “It is finished”. But the glimpse of grace we do get every day is more than enough to remind us of just how far God was willing to go to restore us to a right relationship with Himself and bring us into His rest.
God’s salvation comes in the form of His promises starting with His promise that He would send a Savior. That promise has been fulfilled and so has all the others He has given to us because we are "In Christ Jesus". That makes all God's promises available to all God's children here and now, not way off in the by and by. The Lord tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:20 "For all God's promises are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through Christ we can say 'Amen' to the glory of God.” (ISV) Do you know what promises God has given you for your situation? It is imperative that we study God’s word to learn, believe and receive those promises so that we will be able to accomplish what He has planned for us to do while we are here on earth. David said in Psalm 27:13 “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (NKJV) Do you believe you are going to see the goodness of God in your life today? You can enter God’s rest and see His goodness every day by believing His word. God is not a man that He would lie. If He promises something He will do it. His only condition is that you believe what He says. Don’t let unbelief cause you to fall short, go to God's throne! Receive God’s mercy and compassion. It’s only when we receive God’s forgiveness that we are able to find His grace!
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. ~Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
Have you traded striving for rest? In what areas of your life or relationships?
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