Scripture
Our verse for today comes from Hebrews 4:10, ” For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. “
Background
Just because you’re not working doesn’t mean that you’re resting, does it? How many three-day weekends or weeklong vacations have been so full of activity and action that you have needed to get back to your job just so you could recover from your time off? Even time spent sitting in the recliner or lying in bed does little to refresh our mind and body if our thoughts are still running wild and our legs are twitchy and restless. On the other hand, deep and refreshing rest doesn’t always require hours away from it all, completely locked away from everything. A short, intense nap can do wonders to overcome the exhaustion of the day, and it only requires a handful of minutes. Sacrificing a brief spell of activity can go a long way towards enhancing the productivity of the remainder of the day. Even for something as simple as rest, there can be a right way and a wrong way. God offers His children rest. If we were to ever stop for a moment in the midst of our days, we would realize that rest is what we so desperately need.
Application
The Israelites needed it, but something kept them from it. For them, their restless minds and twitchy legs were manifested in two ways: unbelief and disobedience. God says that they did not enter the rest He called them to because of their unbelief and disobedience, and so they died in the wilderness. Many of you may be dying in the wilderness, burying yourselves in activity and work. And not just the work from 8 ’til 5, or the activities of a busy weekend. You are working for God. But the rest never comes. The service, the sacrifice, the devotion are all there, but the rest is missing. That’s because your labor of love is being done through unbelief and disobedience. Not blatantly in the face of God’s grace, but covertly through an impure attitude or out of guilt or obligation. God’s rest comes only when you cease from the energy that is your own and obediently believe that He will live His life through you, as fully as He did through Jesus. There, and only there, abides the rest God has for His child.
Charge
As we seek Him today, find the rest you need by obediently surrendering yourself and believing that He can do anything through you.
Author – Rich Holt | BCWorldview.org
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