God’s Rest

Why didn’t the Israelites enter God’s rest?

• • Instead of trusting in God’s provision they complained about food, water and hardships.
  • God miraculously provided but they longed / yearned for Egypt. 
  • They’d rather trust in the resources of Egypt instead of the resources of God.
  • They ne
  • eded to cultivate trust in God’s promises instead of fearing the giants in the land.

 

Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 should open our eyes and help us learn from the past

• Cultivate faith / walk in His presence
• Obedience not striving
• Steadily persevere in His ways

WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE ?

What is the state of our minds?  How are we thinking?  What are we craving?

• Do we long for the predictable resources of Egypt?
• Do we want to trust in what is familiar?

Think about trusting God daily.  What does this mean?  We trust in the things that we know to be true.

• Understanding God’s character = more trust
• Knowing God’s nature = more trust
• Embracing & believing God’s promises = more trust
• The more we abide & experience His love – trust grows
• When we release control, breathe and surrender – trust grows
• When we are tested & go through trials yet still obey – trust grows
• When we think of all the things He has brought us through – trust grows
• When we realize, with humility, how small we are and how large He is – trust grows
• When we pray and talk to Him frequently and honestly – trust grows

 

When we think & live with God as our source INSTEAD of craving instant gratification and feeding our wordly appetites – TRUST GROWS

 

• When we grow stronger in His rest during hardships and aren’t tossed and triggered by circumstances – trust grows
• When we grow in His strength and allow the Holy Spirit to shift our living from longing for old patterns to walking in His newness of life – trust grows

 

FEAR & Unbelief

When we engage life in a way that is opposite to the way trust is nurtured and grows then we give the enemy and the flesh authority.  This leads us down the road to fear and unbelief. 

This prohibits us from entering God’s rest

It is highly tempting to chase and embrace anything that will keep us from being exposed to uncertainty. 

Why do we do this?  We don’t like discomfort and we don’t like to wait for things.  What happens when we don’t move and exercise?  Our muscles atrophy and our joints get stiffer – especially as we get older.  Movement is important, but it must be in God’s timing & ways. 

What is at the root of our impatience?  Desire to control our circumstances thereby being the “Ruler / King” over our lives is common.  We desire to control fear but we don’t have that power in ourselves without Christ.  Releasing control and embracing surrender to God is the key to lasting peace which brings us to a crossroads.  This is why learning to trust Him more and more is important.  Coming to a crossroads is an ongoing part of life and so learning to embrace a lifestyle of surrender is important.  Review above on how trust grows. 

Quick fixes VS Spiritual Maturity

We can’t have it both ways.  Consider the following:

Gold refined in fire:  "The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests hearts." (Proverbs 17:3)

• Just as gold is purified through intense heat, trials purify and strengthen our faith.

Olives must be crushed to produce oil

• In biblical times, olive oil was a valuable resource for light, anointing, and healing. But olives must be pressed to release their oil. This mirrors how trials and suffering can produce something valuable in our lives.

A seed must be buried before it grows:  "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:24)

• Growth often comes through seasons of darkness, waiting, and apparent loss before new life emerges.

Pearls are formed by irritation

• An oyster creates a pearl by coating an irritant (like a grain of sand) with layers of nacre. What begins as an annoyance becomes something beautiful, much like how God transforms painful experiences into something precious.

Storms strengthen trees

• Trees that face strong winds develop deeper roots to withstand future storms. In the same way, hardships deepen our faith and resilience.

Potter and the clay:  "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel." (Jeremiah 18:6)

• Clay must be molded, pressed, and even placed in a kiln to become a useful vessel. Our trials shape us into something God can use.

  Grapes must be crushed to make wine

• Just as grapes must be crushed to release their juice for wine, we sometimes go through pressing seasons where God is producing something greater in us.

Why do we want self sufficiency and worldly success and God seems to want us to learn dependency upon Him, embracing trust in Him in our circumstances and surrendering to Him and His ways instead of striving in our own abilities, talents and strengths?

Ask Him!  Hold this question before Him.  Allow the Holy Spirit the space & time to unpack this with you.  Do you feel like doing this is overwhelming or you simply don’t want to invest your time in this way? 

If so, it’s likely you’re still holding onto the illusion of control.  You still think your ways are better than His.  Are you a better holder, keeper, protector and RULER over your life than He; the one who gives you breath each moment?

How do you look at rest?

1. Is it a place and when you go there you can finally rest?
2. Is rest a specific day of the week?
3. Does rest happen only when you feel a certain way? Do your circumstances have to be “just right?”  Does rest come or go depending on your state of emotions?

 

God’s rest is wild, free and untamed.  It cannot fit into a box.  Is it found from surrender or is it found when we have everything under control?

His rest can be solitude – boldly moving – laying something down or picking something up. 

When we shift from living out of our own power and into God’s sufficiency we discover resting in Him is a rhythm of life, not something that comes and goes.  Think of breathing:  It’s a natural part of life and we do it without conscious awareness.  Like breathing, rest flows naturally when we trust in God.  Just as we practice deep breathing we also cultivate rest by abiding in trust in all that we do. 

Practical shifts to enter God’s Rest

Learn to recognize how you react / respond in daily life.

• Do you grasp for control in different areas of your life? Learn to release.
• Do you spend substantial resources (time – energy, etc…) trying to force outcomes? Learn to flow in God’s leading.
• Do you measure success by the results you achieve? Consider what it means and what it looks like to walk in obedience to God; to trust in Him and His ways. 

 

Ask yourself often:

1. “Am I striving, or trusting?”
2. “Am I walking in God’s rhythm of grace or forcing things?”
3. “Am I aware of You with every inhale and exhale?
4. Is this simplifying or complicating my life?
5. Is my heart carrying some type of weight?

God’s rest is responsive:  Jesus didn’t live with a “frantic” energy but in the divine flow of the Father.  John 5:19 - “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in the same way. 

• Growing up, I remember my grandpa sitting and watching television and old movies. It was comforting to him.  As a veteran of WWII I believe it brought back a certain familiarity.  I also have patterns of doing familiar and comforting things.  However, I believe it’s a good exercise to ask this question: 

How would I respond if it all just turned off?

Remember:  All water is not equal, it depends on the source.  You shouldn’t drink sea water for instance.  Also, all rest is not equal.

REST is God Himself….. it’s the person of Jesus.  It’s a process.  Don’t try to figure it all out in one sitting.  Step into the journey, the rhythm, the flow of abiding in Christ Jesus.  It’s a way of living, of being.