Due to COVID-19, many of us have been given a period of “natural” rest whether we wanted it or not. If not from work, from activities or social gatherings we have been accustomed to. Although rest is a necessary part of our lives, many times in our busyness we don’t know how to disengage. After all, even God rested on the 7th day.
In bible times, farmers followed a specific law.
"Six years you shall sow your land and reap its yield. But the seventh year you shall release it and let it rest and lie fallow.”
Exodus 23:10-11
This enabled the land to regenerate, causing minerals and nutrients from deep below to rise toward the soil surface. It also improved moisture holding capabilities and allowed for a higher crop yield.
Those same principles apply to us. As we rest in Him and draw from His Spirit, which are the nutrients and minerals we need, living water flows more abundantly and we bear more fruit. After all, we were created out of the dirt.
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”
Genesis 2:7
When the Israelites were in the wilderness, between Passover and Pentecost, they did not spiritually enter into the rest of God.
"Those who first heard the good news of deliverance failed to enter into that realm of faith’s rest because of their unbelieving hearts. Yet the fact remains that we still have the opportunity to enter into the faith-rest life and experience the fulfillment of the promise!”
Hebrews 4:6
So, what is that promise? The promise that we are not left alone to our own demise; the offer of salvation and all that it entails; the benefit package is literally, “Out of This World.” I need to believe (trust in, lean on and cling to) Someone (not another human) bigger than myself, because I’m all too familiar with my failures, weaknesses and incapabilities. It is comforting for me to know that I am not expected to figure it all out and have all the answers.
It is sad to see a child try to do something they can’t and push away a parent that is trying to help them. This is many times what we do to God as He extends His hand to help us and we slap it away.
“If only today you would listen to His voice and do not harden your hearts!”
Hebrews 4:7
"So, we conclude that there is still a full and complete “rest” waiting for believers to experience. As we enter into God’s faith-rest life we cease from our own works, just as God celebrates His finished works and rests in them."
Hebrews 4:9
In this “NEW” season that we are entering into, we declare that all Christians, believers and those that confess to know God, will enter into the rest He has for them. As we do, there will be a shift in the atmosphere. From death to life, from fear to faith, from bondage to freedom and from defeat to victory.
"So then we must give our all and be eager to experience this faith-rest life, so that no one falls short by following the same pattern of doubt and unbelief. For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, like a two-mouthed sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet. It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts. There is no one person who can hide their thoughts from God, for nothing that we do remains a secret, and nothing created is concealed, but everything is exposed and defenceless before His eyes, to whom we must render an account.”
Hebrews 4:11
Lord we ask You to make us brave so we can face who we really are, in order to become who you created us to be, in Jesus name we pray. AMEN