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… For only we who believe can enter his rest. Hebrews 4:1,3 (NLT)
What is God’s rest? And what prevents some from experiencing it?
The more we grasp that our salvation through Jesus is a gift, the more we experience God’s rest. Jesus’ sacrifice has freed us from trying to earn our salvation through works.
Think about it—trying to “be better” on our own can feel futile. Continually striving to defeat harmful habits or attain inner peace by our own strength is exhausting. In fact, it makes our hearts sick (Proverbs 13:12)! We are all works in progress, but there is freedom when we let God’s grace bring change at the heart level.
There is rest in realizing we cannot bring spiritual change into our lives through our strength or willpower. However, we must deepen and strengthen our faith and understanding of Christ’s finished work on the cross to stay in that rest. When Jesus said His yoke was easy and His burden was light (see Matthew 11:28-30), He was talking to first-century Jews who were stuck trying to uphold hundreds of Old Testament laws. Their work to be right with God never ceased. Under the New Covenant Jesus established through his sacrifice on the cross, we are righteous before God, at peace with Him and no longer have to work for God’s acceptance. We can rest in knowing that faith in Christ secures our future and salvation. There is spiritual rest in allowing God’s grace to change us, instead of relying on our ability.
There is incredible, life-changing rest for believers in Christ. But it takes faith and resting in God’s ability in order to experience it!
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