August 19

There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Hebrews 4:9,10.

This passage affirms that “Today” there a Sabbath rest for the believers in Christ (see prior verse 7). We know that God rested on the seventh day of creation, and that same model is available for us, not just one day a week, but every day. I have spent a lifetime learning what it means to rest from my works and then to enter into His. I assume that I will continue to learn throughout eternity.

We are so prone to work out our own life. After all, have we not been trained by the world system to do just that? But I am gradually learning that I need to present my weaknesses rather than my strengths to Him. My ego chaffs at this sometimes, but it is the key to entering His rest. I had nothing to do with my creation, and I can only trust the creator to complete the eternal process of teaching me reliance upon Him. There is to be total contentment in this submission. I may not understand the purpose or the goal of any situation, but I can trust the One who loves me and is bent upon conforming me to the image of Christ. He asks for obedience—the kind that springs from my faith in Him. Anxiety, exhaustive efforts, and worry about what I am to say or do are not found in this rest. Instead there is the calm that stems from a love relationship between two beating hearts.

Today Lord I thank You for the rest that You have made available to us. Some will miss it, but do not let me be one that does. Instead I count on You to produce every type of desire on my part to enter that rest. It may be that I have to experience the failure of my own efforts, or I may have to experience the ridicule of others, but only Your rest will give a worthy outcome to my life. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.
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