Promised Rest

Sacred Gifts and Holy Gatherings
What We Bring to God

The Lord's Day

Hebrews 4:1-11  The Message

When the Promises Are Mixed with Faith

4 ^1-3 For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God’s goal for us, we need to be careful that we’re not disqualified. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn’t do them a bit of good because they didn’t receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though, we’ll experience that state of resting. But not if we don’t have faith. Remember that God said,

Exasperated, I vowed,
    “They’ll never get where they’re going,
    never be able to sit down and rest.”

^3-7 God made that vow, even though he’d finished his part before the foundation of the world. Somewhere it’s written, “God rested the seventh day, having completed his work,” but in this other text he says, “They’ll never be able to sit down and rest.” So this promise has not yet been fulfilled. Those earlier ones never did get to the place of rest because they were disobedient. God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today, just as he did in David’s psalm, centuries later than the original invitation:

Today, please listen,
    don’t turn a deaf ear . . .

^8-11 And so this is still a live promise. It wasn’t canceled at the time of Joshua; otherwise, God wouldn’t keep renewing the appointment for “today.” The promise of “arrival” and “rest” is still there for God’s people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we’ll surely rest with God. So let’s keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience.

For Reflection 

Life in God is an unending journey, which extends beyond our graves and into eternity.  God's promise of rest will come as we enter God's Kingdom and live in the household of God..  The challenges of being human and having the capacity to choose between life in God or death mired in our own folly will continue and we will find rest only when we accept the mystery that is God and are obedient to the Holy Spirit which resides in each of us.

Pray

so that you will listen to the Spirit which resides within you.  Pray often for wisdom and listed for God's whispered council.   Obey and be at rest as a child of God.