Rest!

And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. Heb. 3:18-19

I’ve been thinking a lot about rest lately; largely because it seems that many people I run into aren’t getting much. When I ask “How are you?” I’m pretty sure the response, “I’m tired”, has actually surpassed the time tested, “I’m busy.” This of course makes perfect sense as busyness naturally leads to fatigue. What’s alarming is the fact that I don’t think we are any less busy…we’re just tired as well.

In the above passage from Hebrews, the writer is referring to the people of Israel who refused to enter the Promised Land because of a fear of giant people in giant cities. He goes on to warn us lest we miss out on God’s rest due to unbelief.

This leads me to a couple of observations. First, I find the comparison of the Promised Land (their final destination) to rest quite telling. Rest is not a place we are to visit…like a vacation. It is where we are supposed to live! God’s design is for us to operate in a state of restfulness in the midst of our work, play, family life, and spiritual life. Second, the connection between unbelief and unrest is worth noting. Unbelief directly disqualified a generation of Israelites from the promised land of rest; but what about us? I see how unbelief will keep us from the “rest” of salvation, but can it lead a believer to other kinds of unrest? Consider driven ness; what is the belief behind the need to do and have more? I think if we will take time to unpack the motives behind our frantic pace, we’ll discover more unbelief than we’d like to admit. Maybe God can’t provide, maybe he won’t promote me, maybe my kid’s aren’t safe in His hands…fear and unbelief everywhere! It’s time to say no to unbelief and enjoy a little rest!

God wants to set us free to live a lifestyle at rest! The big question is, “Do we believe enough to let Him?”