Rest!

Rest!

Hebrews 4:10 AMPC

[10] For he who has once entered [God's] rest also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own.

As we read the story of the people of Israel, we are reminded of what God's plan for them was, and how they always seemed to find a way to mess up. God is always faithful to His promises, and there is nothing that can stop His will from coming to pass. My life can be a hindrance to what He wants to do, but His Omniscience means that He knows what is coming, and He has adequately prepared for any eventuality. As part of God's will for calling out Abraham from his father's house, and promising him a land flowing with milk and honey, God was trying to establish a pattern of life and behaviour that would attract His blessings and favour. He wanted to lay down a model that the world could see and follow, if it also wanted the same favour and blessings that Abraham and his offspring received. This was a rest that was permanent, and one that would be sustained by obedience. 

However, as we know, there were many reasons why Israel could not just stay loyal. It could be because it did not really fight for the land that it was given, or it was easier to just blend in with the practices of the nations that were around it, or it was just too much work to stay faithful, when there were attractive options all around. I note that the rebellion and disobedience of Israel did not change God's plan; God already had a plan even for the disobedience, and He applied punishment  as it was due under His rules for Israel. We read of the exile of the nation at different times in their history, and how many died in foreign lands. It is a truth that God has no favourites when it comes to, and He will punish sin, no matter in whom it is found. However, His hatred for sin does not in any way dilute His love for the sinner. It is His love that underpins the message in the verse above.

It is God's desire that man has rest. He modelled this desire by working for six days on creation, and resting on the seventh day. He offers the same rest to all who would come to Him. He offers the same rest to all who would put their total trust in Him. As we know, God does not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of my freewill. It is an offer open to 'he who seeks to enter into God's rest'. You enter by the only way God has laid down, who is Jesus Christ. You enter by total surrender and absolute trust in the finished work on the cross. He offers an end to the weariness and pain of human labors, which the people under the control and influence of the world cannot access. Today is another day that God has graciously given for us to access all that He has promised. Would you take Him up on His promises? God's time of favour is here.