In-ter-est: Enter Rest

“God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear

that some of you might fail to experience it.” (Hebrews 4:1, NLT)

Sometimes, I have to sound words out.

It helps me remember how to spell them. (Lol)

So, yesterday, I was writing something, and for some reason, I was having trouble spelling the word interesting.

Has that ever happened to you?

Sometimes it happens with the simplest words.

As I began to sound it out slowly, I heard myself saying, in-ter-est — enter rest.

Okay, maybe it’s just me, but flow with me for a moment.

I’m sure many of us have had those days where you just wanted to rest. You didn’t want to do your “to-do list”. You didn’t want to go to work. You didn’t want to be around anyone because you just didn’t want to be bothered. All you wanted to do was simply sit down somewhere and rest.

Be still.

Maybe, you still feel that way — like you need to rest.

It’s a feeling of going on vacation, and when you get back home, you feel as if you need a vacation from the vacation.

Now, some of you may be saying; we’re just coming out of a lockdown in a pandemic. All we did was rest. How can you still say that we need rest?

Yes, that is true, but this past year has been, more or less, one of physical rest. Yes, our bodies may have rested but did our spirits rest.

For many, I would say, no. The reason being, many were worried.

• Worried about their finances and the responsibilities that went along with that.
• Many were worried about fighting this invisible enemy and staying healthy.
• Many were worried about going to store after store and not finding disinfectant wipes and disinfectant spray to sanitize their homes.
• Many were worried about their health and the health of family members. We witnessed 535k deaths in the United States alone, and thousands of those people died without any family around them to say goodbye. That was worrisome in itself.
• Many parents and guardians were stressed dealing with homeschooling and remote learning.
• And the list goes on.

And yet still, there was no rest for our spirits.

Just as Israel never experienced their promise of rest, our spirit-man has not shared in his promise of rest.

I am here today to tell you this rest is still available to all who believe. For you see, Hebrews 4:1a says, “God’s promise of entering his rest still stands…” (NLT)

The promise was never fulfilled. But it has not been revoked. The promise is waiting for you to claim — waiting for you to grab hold of it and not let go until it becomes a part of your DNA.

Disobedience and unbelief kept Israel’s first generation from entering into God’s rest.

However, God has given us principles and instructions to follow. Instructions like, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

“Be anxious for nothing…” I know. It’s hard. But somewhere in the depths of our understanding, we have to find that tiny seed of faith and water it until it grows into a tree.

When we believe God, learn to be obedient to God, and cast our cares upon God, we will accomplish what Israel fell short in doing — partaking of His rest.

Wow, I could say more, but we’ll stop here.

Join me next week for more Coffee on The Couch.