#DailyDevotion Today Is The Day Of Your Rest In God
Heb. 4 7so He sets another day — today — when long afterwards He says in David’s words, already quoted: “Today if you hear Him speak, don’t harden your hearts.”8If Joshua had given them rest, God wouldn’t later have spoken of another day. 9So there is still a Sabbath of rest for God’s people, 10 since anyone who goes to his rest finds rest from his work as God did from His. 11Let us then be diligent to come to that rest so that no one may disobey and fall like those people.
I am reminded again how “today” is from Psalm 95 which is used as a call to worship in Morning Prayer. It recalls God, the LORD, is our Maker and we are sheep of His hand. It is interesting talking about entering a rest (well Morning Prayer only quotes Psalm 95 up to the word-today) at the beginning of a day, when we normally are thinking about work. But the today here is the beginning of the day of rest. Unfortunately, many see worship not as rest but as work. The focus on it being something being done for God as opposed to God Himself coming down and doing something for us. Even our offering of worship to the LORD is meant to be rest from all our works. It is not meant to wear us out but rather to charge us up.
The Israelites did not enter the rest of the LORD the author of Hebrews concludes. No doubt, their lives would have been much easier had they obeyed the LORD when they entered the land, but they rarely experienced the joy and rest the LORD would have given them if they would have been faithful to Him. So by the Spirit, David proclaims another day of rest, Today. Even in Jesus’ day, as we read the Gospels we see how the Pharisees and Scribes tried to minisculely keep the Sabbath, Jesus shows them they have not and were not keeping the Sabbath. They acted like it was for God but the Sabbath was for man.
So there is still a Sabbath of rest for God’s people. We have been called to enter an eternal rest. We find our rest in God, that is, Jesus Christ. We cannot rest as long as we are looking to our own good works to satisfy God and to appease Him. We can never do enough. Such is not the life of faith. Everything apart from faith is sin, Paul tells us in Romans. Later in Hebrews it will be written, “without faith it is impossible to please God.” Faith in Jesus Christ and His works alone gives us the rest which is talked about here. Rest does not mean we don’t do anything. Jesus says in John 5:17, “My Father has been working until now, and so I am working.”
It is written in Is. 57, “20But the wicked are restless like the sea; it can’t rest, and its waters throw up mud and slime. 21′So the wicked have no peace,’ says my God.” Rest and peace go together so the pastor speaking for Christ says, “The peace of the LORD be with you.” This peace, this rest is born of faith. So when the author says, “Let us then be diligent,” he is not speaking of doing work but removing the things from our life that are taxing on our faith, that cause us to doubt the Good News of Jesus Christ. Good works are to flow from our faith, our peace, our rest in Jesus Christ. Has not Jesus told us in Matt. 11, “28“Come to Me, all you who are working hard and carrying a heavy load, and I will give you rest. 29Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me -I am gentle and humble-minded – then you will find your rest. 30My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” So let us then put our faith in Jesus’ work which makes us pleasing to God trusting in His promises and then enter into His rest.
Gracious Father, continually grant us Your grace so we may have faith in Jesus Christ and His work, so we may rest from ours and live in Your peace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.