09/04/2023
I’ve often wondered about some phrases in these “labor to enter into His rest” Bible verses…this is a pic of my dog, and we’re resting today.
“We ought to tremble with fear” about not experiencing rest? I mean, yes, it’s God’s rest so I should want it simply for that, but why is it so important that I should be afraid of not getting it? Like, what am I missing here?
Then, there’s this struggle of God wanting His people to enter this “rest,” but then getting angry because of unbelief and stating, “They will never enter my place of rest.”
Wait a minute…! If I’m not resting and I’m working, I might be at risk for unbelief and disobey God? But that’s exactly it! Let me explain.
I tend to be a Martha (in the Bible) - remember her? Always working, never stopping to sit and just listen to Jesus. She was doing many things that needed to get done, and so do I. I’m ALWAYS busy, forever trying to get my list done, only to find 15 more tasks I then need to do. This busyness can easily keep me from quiet time with the Lord, listening to His voice, and even from resting my own body. The more I do this, the more I find I need to depend on myself to get things done. That dependency on myself is where I can see that I might easily slip into thinking, “it’s all up to me, what has God really done for me?” when really, I’m not giving Him room to do anything.
If you’re a different personality, this might look differently for you.
I looked up “rest” used here to get a better definition. There are essentially 2 different Greek words used:
“katapausis” = “resting, rest, dwelling, habitation”
“sabbatismos” = “a sabbath rest”
So, using these definitions, verses 10-11 read like this:
“For all who have entered into God’s dwelling (where He lives) have rested from / stopped working their tasks, just as God did after creating the world. So let us make every effort to enter God’s dwelling where He lives, so that we do not also fall into that same disobedience.”
What this means to me is that if I’m not taking time - intentionally in my world! - to rest my spirit, soul, and body, then I’m not able to spend time with God, to be where He lives, to hear from and stay close to Him. I will do many wonderful things in life, but not the wonderful things HE can do in me, even ending up to the point of deciding to do what I want instead of obeying Him.
Full stop.
I’m resting today. I’m having my quiet time, spending time with family and our dogs, resting my mind and my body. I hope you do the same!!!
Hebrews 4:1-11 NLT
1 God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it.
2 For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.
3 For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said,
“In my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest,’”even though this rest has been ready since he made the world.
4 We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.”
5 But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.”
6 So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God.
7 So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted:
“Today when you hear his voice,
don’t harden your hearts.”
8 Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come.
9 So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.
10 For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world.
11 So let us do our best to enter that rest
