Sabbath-rest

The last couple of days my soul, my spirit, my heart, my whole being has all felt pretty quiet. I am always going. Always on my way to work, or to the store, or to the supermarket. Always going somewhere. In the midst of all that, my mind is always going, always thinking, always reasoning, a song is always in my head or a passage of scripture, or a conversation.

However, for the last two days or so even though I am still going physically I feel as though I have slowed down on the inside for some reason. Not sure what is happening or why, I turned to the word of God to help me sort out what I was or wasn't feeling.

I have been studying the book of Acts for a new study we have coming up starting tomorrow, but then I decided to put it aside and go back to my study of the Pauline Epistles. I had started in the Hebrews and so I went right there, spent some time praying asking God for fresh insight and a clearer understanding of His word.

In reading Hebrews 3 &4, God showed me right away: its time for a sabbath-rest. Paul in these chapters was referring to the time when God's people hardened their hearts and rebelled against His voice even though they had seen His hand meeting their needs time and time again. God in His anger, had declared that they would never enter into His rest. (3:11)

They would never enter His rest but there was still a sabbath rest laid up for the people of God.

"There remains, then a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for those who enter God's rest also rest from their own work, just as God did from his. Let us therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience." (4:9 & 10)

God is calling us to a rest in Him. Yes we set aside a certain day or time for worship with the saints, which is absolutely necessary. If that was the only kind of rest we needed, we would not be so burnt out time and time again.

A Sabbath-rest is not just resting from work on the Sabbath day but laying aside all our worries and resting in God. I need a refreshing, I need a rest from going all the time, thinking all the time. God is saying to my spirit today, stop working so hard at worrying about life and food and family and just rest in me.

So one of my new intentions is to 'make every effort to enter that rest.'

I don't know what you are working hard at today, and it may all be legitimate, but I want to encourage you to pause and enter into the beloved rest of God. His hands are outstretched with peace and contentment for all who would take Him at His word.


Blessings,
Vickie