The joy of His Rest

J

Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”

The whole Christian life begins with trusting God for something. It begins with trusting God for our salvation, just as the Israelites had to trust God for their deliverance from Egypt. When we believe and trust Christ, He applies His blood to our hearts, and we are redeemed.

Having received that gift of salvation through grace by faith, we have entered into the life of Christ. At this point many people expect to find a bed of roses, but instead they begin to wander through a wilderness. But God doesn’t expect us to wander in an endless spiritual desert, just as He never intended to Israelites to wander in the wilderness for forty years. God had originally planned for the Israelites to go directly to Mount Sinai, receive His instructions and the Ten Commandments, proceed to Kadesh Barnea, and enter and occupy the Promised Land. When the twelve spies went ahead, they saw giants and walled cities in the land. They reported that the inhabitants were greater than they could conquer. Because of the Israelites’ unbelief, God said, “So I swore in My wrath, “they shall not enter My rest – Psalm 95:11. He condemned them to wander for forty years in the wilderness, apart from His perfect plan of immediate rest and security in the Promised Land.

Hebrews 4:10 “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.”

Though you have received God’s gift of grace, you may not have yet entered into God’s rest. Your soul may be wandering in a vast wilderness, wandering because you haven’t believed that God will conquer the “giants in the land.” But only when you place your trust in Him (the only one worthy of your total trust) can you enter into the joy of His rest and the delight of a close relationship with Him.