Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.
Hebrews 4:3
I’m going to say something that’s not very popular these days. These words are just the opposite of what we hear on the radio. See on television. Read in books and social media. Listen to on podcasts. It seems like the whole world is against what I’m about to say. But that doesn’t make it false or wrong. So here goes.
We are responsible for what we say and do. There, I said it. Let the yelling and screaming begin. Please feel free to pick up your verbal rocks and stone me within an inch of my life. Go ahead, rate me as zero stars. Label me as a bigot or worse.
Yes, it’s true that some of us may have something in our DNA that might make us more sensitive to something. Makes us an easier target to upset our lives. Yes, some of us grew up in an abusive environment and that’s impacted how we think and what we do. Yes, some of us have experienced dreadful and violent people, and that certainly does change things.
And while all that is true, we still have a choice about how we react. We’re not helpless animals that just react without thinking. We’re not programmed robots that only do what they’re programmed to do.
My heart deeply aches for people that have experienced pain and tragedy. I felt so helpless as a close friend started shaking with fear from their PTSD. I have friends that a single drink will push them over the edge and down into an alcoholic binge.
I personally grew up in a house with lots of yelling and screaming. We were told that we were worthless and punished with a belt. A neighborhood boy took me into his basement and abused me. But none of that forces me to make the choices I’ve made. The question is how will I respond? What choices will I make?
This is exactly what the writer is saying to the Hebrews of his day. As members of the Hebrew people, they’ve got a long history of tough times. They’ve been through the wringer of history. Lots of kings and nations have tried to kill them off. Some have even taken them into slavery and carted them off to foreign lands.
With all this going on in the background, God still says that he’s with them. That he’s never forgotten them. That he’s never lost track of them. He’s their God and they are his people. They are the sheep of his pasture[1].
God’s call to the Hebrews has two sides. You need one to get the other.
Have believed. It doesn’t say those who believe and then forget about it. Or those who might believe if they see a certain kind of miracle. Of if God lets them live any way they chose. No, this is a have believed kind of belief. It when they make that one-time decision to believe and follow God no matter what. Whether it’s convenient or not. If it’s easy or not. If it makes us feel good or not.
Enter that rest. This isn’t any old kind of rest, but that rest. It isn’t even the rest that we think we need. The rest we deserve. It’s the rest that God gives. It’s the rest that God made us for. This rest isn’t just chillin’ while we kick back. While that isn’t all that bad, this kind of rest they is only skin deep. There’s a deeper rest that calms us inside. That tells us that God’s in control and everything will work out for His glory.
So, how do we get that kind of rest? What’s the price of admission to that restful place? What’s the app that I can download onto my phone to experience God’s rest? What are the practical steps to earn that rest we so desperately want and need?
Well, it’s not a bunch of steps. It’s not a three-point checklist of things you need to do. It’s not five things that you’re required to do. It’s not even eight right steps along a path. It’s actually one step.
That one step is belief. We put our confidence not into something but into the one and only someone. We decide to follow God no matter what. It starts with that first step but we keep on taking that one step. Because of who he is and all he’s done, we stop trusting ourselves and put our trust in him.
Salvation, moving from a dead life to God’s living life happens because He started it all. He reaches down to us and is reaching out right now to us. This is his grace. And our response is to believe him To receive him through faith. It’s not by anything we do but totally because of who he is and all he’s done through Jesus[2].
This is God’s believable rest. He gives himself to us. He’s reaching out to us. He’s calling out to us. We were made for his rest. So, what’s holding us back from receiving his believable rest? He’s not pulling back from us. If anyone’s resisting, it’s us and not him.
Noodling Questions
How easy is it for you to rest? Why?
What things can we do to build up our rest muscle?
How can we change our thinking to become better at God’s rest?
[1] Psalm 100:3
[2] Ephesians 2:8,9
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