The Amazing Life of Rest
Very few things in life can compete with the healing and rejuvenating power of rest. Incidentally, even God took time to rest. God worked, creating the world for six days, but he rested on the seventh day. Did creating this world make him tired? Let’s let the Bible answer that question.
Isaiah 40:28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
It wasn’t God’s hard work and sweat that created the universe; it was merely the Word of God and the breath of his mouth. Yes – God spoke, and it came to be!
Psalm 33:6,9 By the word of the LORD, the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. Wow!
So, what was the purpose of God resting on the seventh day if it wasn’t needed for his health? God rested on the seventh day to set into motion his purpose for the greatest love of his life – you and me! Yes, all along, God has wanted us to live in the freedom of his rest. Indeed, this was the purpose of Jesus coming to earth! Therefore, God’s greatest pain is when we do not access the rest he has provided for us through Jesus by faith! Listen to this stark word from God.
Heb 3:16-4:3a Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So, we see that they were not able to enter because of their unbelief.
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. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did, but the message they heard was of no value to them because those who heard did not combine it with faith. 3 Now, we who have believed enter that rest.
What was it and that kept the children of Israel from entering into the rest of God? Was it because they didn’t pray enough? Was it because they didn’t go to church enough? What does the Scripture say? “So, we see that they were not able to enter because of their unbelief.” Heb 3:19
Your Christianity is all about what you believe; everything else follows! Many people are trying to do the works of God but have never genuinely believed. Believing God means that you enter the rest of God. No more shame, condemnation, worry, or fear! This means complete rest of your soul (your mind, will, and emotions). Entering the place of God’s rest is essential, but only faith can tap you into it.
In John chapter 6, they came to Jesus and asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” Jn 6:28–29
Childlike faith is what pleases God! God’s greatest longing is for you to live in the freedom that comes from the knowledge that you are loved, forgiven, and free! Faith in what God purchased for you, through the sacrifice of Jesus, taps you into everything that God is. This alone is what pleases God! See Heb 11:6.
Oh, my dearest friend, it is time to renounce and deny access to every thought that challenges your perfect standing with God and his immense love for you! My prayer and declaration over your life today is that you are receiving this powerful truth and that you are stepping into…
The Amazing Life of Rest