Striving To Get Some Rest

Hebrews 4:11, 3 (ESV) - "Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience." V. 3 - "For we which have believed do enter into rest."

I am an extremely light sleeper. I can hear a leaf blow in the back yard, and all of my conspiracy theory studies make me confident that it is surely an attack from a group of neo-nazi satanists, intent on infiltrating my peaceful domain and disrupting the order of the space-time continuum. Well, maybe not. But, it means I only get a few hours of sleep a night.

Rest naturally can sometimes be hard for people to obtain. But rest 'spiritually' seems next to impossible for some to achieve. The difference in obtaining spiritual rest is found in this passage, and yet it seems very paradoxical. We are to strive to enter into rest. Huh?

Other translations of this verse say we are to labour, to be diligent and to do our best to enter into rest. So, obtaining rest is not automatic. It takes effort. And what is the primary ingredient in this rest? That answer is found in verse 3, where it states "For we which have believed do enter into rest." If you want to rest spiritually, you have to believe God.

You might ask, 'what exactly are we to believe?' (go ahead...ask). In the context of this passage in Hebrews 4, we are to believe His promise. Which one? A promise of rest (Hebrews 4:9). You must not be slack in trusting God. You must guard your faith and quiet your heart before Him. If you never fully trust God with your life, you will never be at rest. And, consequentially, you will strive after the WRONG things to give you peace and rest. Our rest is found in Him. Christ is our refuge.

So if you're gonna work on something, work on rest. Believe God is who He said He is, will do what He said He will do and that He is faithful to watch over His word to perform it. You won't have to strive after everything else to give you confidence and assurance. You will be at rest in Him.

May God guide your steps to enter into rest. Now...if you'll excuse me...I think I need a nap.