Sometimes the phrase, “There remains a rest for the people of God” runs through my mind – especially on days when I don’t feel restful.
That statement is from Hebrews 4 where the writer is talking about the unbelief of the Israelites in the desert. Did you know that the opposite of rest is unbelief?
The Israelites in the desert are like many today who set their minds on flesh rather than the promises of God.
“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have BELIEVED DO enter that rest. ‘So I swore in My wrath they shall not enter My rest,’ [speaking of the Israelites in the dessert who did not trust God] although the works were finished from the FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.” (Hebrews 4:2-3)1
Think of it: the works were finished before the foundation of the world! Even before Adam and Eve even sinned and forfeited the glory of the Lord, God had the provision.
“…the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 13:8)
While Jesus walked the earth, He lived in the finished work. Look at the way He lived and moved and related to people in the four Gospels. Look at HIM because “As He is so are we in this world.” (1 John 1:17)2
In the sense that “the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world,” there’s nothing left for God to do. It’s all finished. While we are praying and begging and pleading, God sits on His throne and says, “Hey, it’s done.” We fall into fear when we lose sight of the finished work. Even our praying will become a heavy burden when we are in fear. Faith is no longer faith in Jesus, but faith IN OUR OWN FAITH worked up from self-effort. Self-dependency replaces dependency on Him.
What is life supposed to look like for us?
“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.” (Hebrews 4:9)
That word “rest” is the Greek word “sabbatismos” from which we get our word sabbath. This word literally means “perpetual sabbath rest to be enjoyed uninterruptedly by believers in their fellowship with the Father and the Son.” (Vines)3 Our rest today is a perpetual sabbath rest to be enjoyed CONTINUOUSLY. The only thing God tells us to work at is to work at staying in rest. When the devil tempts us to become unrestful and messes with our minds to tell us to fight as if he hasn’t been defeated, we tell him, “You are already defeated. Jesus has already conquered you.”
“For he that has entered into His rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from His. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Hebrews 4:11, KJV)
Resting in the Lord is not a lazy, passive existence. Christians who view spiritual rest as an excuse to be slothful have misunderstood what God’s promised rest is meant to be. When we know that God has already provided everything we need, and we access His wisdom, provision, strength, and protection by faith, we’ll be governed by the Holy Spirit in a highly strategic and active life. Rest is not an inactive lifestyle. It’s a Spirit-led lifestyle where we flow in the good works that God planned for us long ago.4
The opposite of rest unbelief. When we are restless or anxious, it’s because there is something we are not believing about God. Remaining at rest means we are guarding our faith. What’s the best way to do that? Faith comes by hearing the word of God,5 and meditation on the word of God will strengthen our faith. If you can worry, you can meditate! Worry is taking a fear and thinking about it from every angle. Meditation is just worry in reverse. It’s taking a the truth about God’s love and grace demonstrated through His Son and thinking about it from every angle!
(from pages 336-338 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
21 John 4:17
3Vine, W.E. “sabbath” (sabbatismos), Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Minneapolis, MN, 1984. Print.
4Ephesians 2:10
5Romans 10:17
