GraceCreates

by Jon Walker

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest.
Hebrews 4:9–11 (NIV)

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It’s late at night and several hours since I last asked, “Are we there yet?” My father lifts me from the backseat and the movement nudges me from sleep, just enough to leave impressions: a warm summer night, a bright, white porch light pushing hard against the moonlight, the voice of crickets and the shadows of moths.

I slip into slumber because I’m safe at home, resting in my father’s arms, and he will soon put me into my bed where I can soundly sleep until morning.

This is one of the most powerful memories from my childhood, and it personifies our Sabbath rest with God. We can rest in the Father’s arms, confident and worry-free because the Father carries us.

Paul says we’re to “make every effort to enter that rest.” In other words, our work and energy should be toward learning to trust the Father, so we can rest in his safety and security (Matthew 6:33).

This is the rest of “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NIV). It is the rest of faith at the end of our question: “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:28–29 NIV).

You rest in your faith because your faith is in a God who is faithful, just as my sense of safety in my father’s arms was because I knew it was safe in my father’s arms.

In this rest, you no longer work for God; rather, you let God work through you.

Rest now in God’s power and grace, knowing he is who he says he is and he will do what he says he will do.

Jon Walker is the author of “Growing with Purpose: Connecting with God Every Day.” This article is copyrighted 2010 by Jon Walker. Used by permission.