“For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”
Hebrews 4:10 KJV
The first man that walked on earth entered in through God’s rest. Adam did not breathe his first breath of life until after God finished His work. Man had entered God’s rest. Rest means peace, tranquility, and calm. Rest means to be free from work, labor, or exertion. Rest is a cessation of motion or absence of movement. Rest is inactivity. Rest means having composure. Rest frees us from burdens of responsibility. Rest is synonymous with mental or spiritual calm. Rest is solitude. Rest is a short pause within a line of music. Rest is an interval of silence between tones. Rest means to be still or to stop. We can find rest in a place that provides shelter or lodging after traveling. Rest allows us to lie down, relax and sleep. Rest allows us to relieve weariness and stress. When we find a place of rest, we also find everything we need. Rest comes with provisions. People do not experience rest if they have worry. Worry and rest do not go together but when we do enter a place of rest our whole being is at rest including, mind, body, and spirit. Adam and Eve entered God’s rest. Their bodies were at rest. Their minds were at rest. Their spirits were at rest. God had given them everything they needed. They were in a place of peace and could rest freely whenever they wanted to. They were free. Rest and freedom go together.
God’s place is a place of freedom and rest. In the midst of our adversities, God gives His people rest from our burdens; “…ye make them rest from their burdens” (Exodus 5:5 KJV). God gives us rest from our enemies; “…he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety” (Deuteronomy 12:10 KJV). God even set aside a day in the week to allow His people to rest from their labor; “So the people rested on the seventh day” (Exodus 16:30 KJV). God’s presence in our lives gives us rest; “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest” (Exodus 33:14 KJV).
The world offers an illusion of rest. They lay on their couches and take their vacations without any thought about God’s will for their lives; “You people are rushing toward the day of punishment. You bring near the rule of violence. But now you lie on ivory beds and stretch out on your couches” (Amos 6:3-4 KJV). Many unbelievers live their lives without any thought about tomorrow’s consequences (1 Samuel 25:36-38). People that live under false perceptions think that they know the best way to live a good life, but they are really fooling themselves; “There is a way that people think is right, but it leads only to death” (Proverbs 14:12 ERV). A young man told Jesus Christ that he did everything right and his question appeared to be rhetorical because in his own mind there was nothing that he had done wrong in his life; “The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” (Matthew 19:20 KJV). Living the good life or the so-called ‘American Dream’ is not the answer to Paradise (Luke 16: 22 KJV). For some people, the whole story of their lives will be that they lived, they died, and they were buried. They would have never entered into God’s rest while on earth and they will not enter Paradise after death. The Lord has empathy for the poor and humble and He provides a place of rest for them; “For the LORD heareth the poor” (Psalm 69:33 KJV). Those that are poor in spirit will be in God’s presence; “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3 KJV). Those living by their own efforts have challenges that they may not be able to overcome; “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:21-23 KJV).
What is God’s rest? The Saints of the past knew about the Lord’s rest and sang old spiritual hymns about the rest that God gives to His people: Joys are flowing like a river, Since the Comforter has come; He abides with us forever, Makes the trusting heart His home. Blessed quietness, holy quietness, Blest assurance in my soul! On the stormy sea, Jesus speaks to me, He speaks peace to me, And the billows cease to roll. Everything is turned to gladness, All around this glorious Guest; Banished unbelief and sadness, All is perfect peace and rest. Like the rain that falls from heaven, Like the sunlight from the sky, So the Holy Spirit given, Falls upon us from on high. God’s rest is peace in our lives without worrying about anything (Matthew 6:31-34).
Entering God’s rest is when we do not have the extreme necessity to greatly suffer from disturbing thoughts about our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. When we give our lives over to Jesus Christ and obey God’s commands found in His Word then we have entered God’s rest. This is where Adam and Eve were before they disobeyed God’s command. The obvious question is where do we find God’s commands? We find them in His Word. What the world does not understand but what God’s people do understand is that God’s Word is a person; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1- 3 KJV). That Word is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:13 KJV). Jesus Christ went to Paradise to be with the Father but He left someone here in His absence to comfort us until Jesus Christ returns back to earth; “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26 KJV). We have the promise that we can enter God’s place of rest because of what Jesus did for us. God always had a place of rest for His people. Adam and Eve lost it because of their disobedience and the people in the Old Testament failed to get it because of their lack of faith. Those that did enter God’s rest had a different spirit; “But my servant Caleb was different. He follows me completely. So I will bring him into the land that he has already seen, and his people will get that land” (Numbers 14:24 ERV). The message about God’s rest does not help people who do not accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Only those who believe in Jesus and obey His commands are able to enter into God’s place of rest. God’s work was finished from the time he made the world. On the seventh day God rested from all his work but unbelievers and the disobedient will never enter into God’s place of rest. If you hear God’s voice today, do not be stubborn but obey and respond to His call of salvation; “Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7 ERV). God rested after He finished His work. So, everyone who enters into God’s place of rest will also have rest from their own work just as God did.
Submitted by Trustee Stanley Ridley