When we think of “resting” what images comes to mind? Sleeping late in on a lazy Saturday morning? Spending an unhurried afternoon on the lake? Grilling burgers with some friends? Perhaps making a leisurely drive through the country side and spending an overnight at a cozy cabin? All of those idyllic images are characterized by low stress, no pressure, reduced tension and calm, serene, restful inactivity. Ahhhhhh, our bodies and minds scream for these brief intermissions from the unending drama of life.
The same is true of our souls, but unlike our bodies and minds that will tire out and refuse to go on without rest, the outcry of the inner person is often drowned out by opposition and difficult experiences. The good news is that spiritual rest is available for the present and for eternity. And it doesn’t require us to fly to some tropical paradise or rent a cabin in the mountains or to pay a masseuse to work out the knots.
In Hebrews 4:1-13 the believers are encouraged by the promise of God’s “rest.” God’s rest is one of those spiritual realities called an “already, not yet” blessing. We receive rest in totality in eternity and we receive it on earth. First, it is important to explain the type of rest in this context. I believe that “rest” on this side of eternity means to have God’s peace to endure persecution, suffering or difficult circumstances, while we live on this Earth.
From this passage, we will learn that God made provision for us to have spiritual rest every day, from the day a person believes in Christ’s finished work on the cross. However, one reason that people do not have peace in this life is that they fail to believe God’s Word, and cultivate a relationship with Him.
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Notice that chapter 4 begins with “Therefore” and this significant word serves as a logical conclusion and an exhortation.
Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.
The conjunction “therefore” indicates that he is explaining the previous discussion on Israel’s failure to embrace the rest available to them.
The main idea is found in the last part of this verse, “…should the Hebrew believers THINK they have failed to reach God’s rest?” Certainly not, the author writes that we who have believed have the resource of God’s peace and rest.
The main verb in Hebrews 4:1 “enter” is in the present tense meaning on ongoing action that is currently in progress.
It’s God saying to those believers who suffer, “Don’t give up! My grace is sufficient.” (“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9)
Now do not forget the back ground of the people in the book Hebrews. They were going through much persecution. Their faith in Christ ostracized them from their families. Some of them lost their jobs. Most of them lost their status in the community, and life got real tough for a follower of Christ, some lost their lives because they believed in Jesus. They may have THOUGHT they missed God’s “rest”; they may have THOUGHT they had failed to reach God’s promised blessings.
But the author of Hebrews tells his audience, which includes you and me, “Don’t think that way!” Sure, life might be hard right in this moment, but don’t think for a minute that you missed God’s plan for your life. Instead…
BE ENCOURAGED IN GOD’S PROMISE.
Be confident that you are right now on the way to the glorious future God has for you.
Be sure of it, and don’t think for a minute that you have missed it, because you are right now in the process of entering that rest.
Hebrews 4:2 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.
The author is referring to the common knowledge of the Hebrews in the desert from chapter 3:16-19. The Israelites of Moses’ day heard the good news of the Promised Land, but they could not enter, because they didn’t believe it. So we too have heard the Good News, God’s peace and Christ’s coming. The question is: do we believe it or not?
Hebrews 4:3a For we who have believed do enter that rest,
If you believe the Good news, if you have put your trust in Christ, who died for you, rose from the grave, and is coming again, then you right now have entered God’s rest, and there is nothing that can stop you – not adversity, not persecution, not even death. (that’s what Romans 8:38-39 says)
However, if you don’t believe the Good News, then you will NOT enter God’s rest no matter how hard you try.
Hebrews 4:3b So He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Unbelieving Israel could find no rest, because they refused to believe the good news about the Promised Land. Then, after God rebuked them for their unbelief, they tried to enter in their own strength, but ended up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years until that whole generation died off.
The point is that unbelief keeps you from entering God’s rest, but for those of you who do believe, there is nothing that can stop that. You are right now in the process of entering that rest!
This week I was reading the daily bread and found this story to share with you.
In just six months, Gerald’s life fell apart. An economic crisis destroyed his business and wealth, while a tragic accident took his son’s life. Overcome by shock, his mother had a heart attack and died, his wife went into depression, and his two young daughters remained inconsolable. All he could do was echo the words of the psalmist, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1).
The only thing that kept Gerald going was the hope that God, who raised Jesus to life, would one day deliver him and his family from their pain to an eternal life of joy. It was a hope that God would answer his desperate cries for help. In his despair, like the psalmist David, he determined to trust God in the midst of his suffering. He held on to the hope that God would deliver and save him (vv. 4–5).
That hope sustained Gerald. Over the years, whenever he was asked how he was, he could only say, “Well, I’m trusting God.”
God honored that trust, giving Gerald the comfort, strength, and courage to keep going through the years. His family slowly recovered from the crisis, and soon Gerald welcomed the birth of his first grandchild. His cry is now a testimony of God’s faithfulness. “I’m no longer asking, ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ God has blessed me.” (https://odb.org/2019/05/15)
Do your days seem longer and more difficult than you thought? Maybe this isn’t the life you signed up for. Even so, don’t quit, because God is faithful.
As a believer, you are able right now to obtain God’s rest, and that rest will be sufficient! And in the future there is coming a day when everything will be made right, anew! The hardships will end, and you will be able to live in peace forever!
Hebrews 4:4-5 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”, and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”
The Bible tells us that God rested on the 7th day of creation. Notice that God talks about entering His “rest” thousands of years later after Israel refused to enter the Promised Land? Obviously, it because it’s possible for people to enter God’s rest now!
Hebrews 4:6-7 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.”
This is a quotation of Psalm 95, When Israel refused to enter God’s rest, the Promised Land, in 1,500 B.C., 500 years later, in 1,000 B.C., God spoke through David of THE opportunity to enter His “rest”.
Hebrews 4:8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.
When Joshua led his generation of Israelites into the Promised Land, they expected to find “rest” there. They expected to find “rest” from the hardships of the wilderness. They expected to find “rest” from their enemies in a “land flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 11:9 & 12:9-10). But Joshua could never give them that kind of rest. As soon they entered the land, their enemies attacked again and again and again. Later, Assyria and then Babylon destroyed their cities and carried them away as captives.
Joshua’s day did not bring rest, but there is coming a day when Jesus will bring believer’s ultimate rest. When Jesus returns, He will rule the world from the Throne of David in Israel, and He will bring the rest!
Hebrews 4:9-10 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
There is coming a day when every believer will rest from their labors. They will rest from the toil and pain of this age, in the next. The best is yet to come for every believer, so don’t for a minute let your current pain block your view of God’s promises. Don’t for a minute lose your hope in the future God has planned for you.
If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, we are encouraged not to give up, because we have a decree from God of a wonderful future ahead for those who believe. We can be sure of God’s grace and peace we are told to…
BE CONFIDENT OF THAT REST.
Diligently search your own heart. Faith in Christ assures you of better days ahead with Him, so make sure to believe in God’s rest.
Hebrews 4:11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
The disobedience of unbelief refers to Israel’s unbelief and therefore their refusal to enter the Promised Land as God commanded. Unbelief kept them from God’s rest, and unbelief will keep you from God’s rest, as well.
Faith will demonstrate itself in obedience. So if you’re living your life in disobedience to God’s Word, it may be that you don’t really believe what He says.
More importantly, don’t count on a religious experience to think that you have faith. Make sure you’re counting on Christ and Him alone, for your salvation.
God demands a change of mind about your sinful condition – that’s called repentance. In other words, acknowledge that your sin has enslaved you. Then trust Jesus’ death and resurrection to save you. Trust Him in this life for His coming Kingdom.
That’s faith, however if you’re not so sure, open God’s Word and ask God to examine your heart.
Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
God’s Word slices to the HEART of the matter, and God knows what’s in YOUR heart, so open a Bible and ask God to reveal to you what’s really there on the inside.
A 75-year-old Marion Shurtleff purchased a Bible in a used book store near her home in San Clemente, California. After making her purchase and returning home, she discovered a couple of folded pages tucked in the middle of the Bible.
The contents of the yellowed notebook sheets contained a child’s handwriting that looked familiar. To her amazement, Shurtleff discovered her name at the top of the first page. When she looked closer, she realized that she was actually reading a four-page essay she had written as a ten-year-old to earn a merit badge for the Girls Scouts in Covington, Kentucky—more than 2,000 miles from where she had just purchased the Bible.
By her own account, Shurtleff was deeply moved. “I opened the Bible and there was my name,” Shurtleff said in a phone interview from her home. “I recognized my handwriting. I was shaking, literally. I was crying.” (Brian Mains, “Marion Shurtleff makes amazing discovery in used Bible, finds childhood essay she wrote 65 years ago,” WCPO Digital, 5-28-13; www.Preaching Today.com)
No one knows how an essay written 65 years previously ended up in a Bible halfway across the country, but one thing is certain. Through God’s Word, “you can know that He will never leave you or forsake you” even when time fades your memory. And in God’s Word you can read about people just like you: people who pursue faith in God, people who battled depression, doubt, lust, and pride, yet found God’s mercy!
The Israelites saw several obstacles that frightened them away from embracing God’s promises and His rest. Yet they are the same two enemies that stand in our way of peace and joy. The first enemy is “panic” saying “your not going to make it.” We see problems so big that we think God can’t handle them.
The second enemy is “pride” which says “you can handle your problems on you own.” When pride shows up it convinces us that we don’t need God.
To have God’s peace today, make a decision to replace panic and pride with peace by offering up our fears, worries, pains and problems to God in prayer. He’ll make good on His promise and replace our fretting with peace.
Be sure of God’s rest; and if you’re not sure, open God’s Word and examine your heart to make sure you have truly trusted in Christ as your Savior, His promises are real…
Because life is worth the living because He lives.
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.
Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ.
One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrow will erase;
So bravely run the race, till we see Christ. (Esther Kerr Rusthoi)