Entering into his rest

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God.    Hebrews 4:9

There comes a point when you realize you are not in control, that the difficulties are more than you can handle, and that God is the only one who can handle your situation. Only when you come to this point are you a candidate for God’s grace and help. Only then can you experience God’s rest – something reserved only for God’s children.

Take the word rest, and form an acrostic with these guidelines.

The R stands for relax. Cease from your own striving and turn things over to the Lord.

The E stands for enter into His peace. Commit yourself to what God tells you about yourself, about the circumstances facing you, and about the future. Have the attitude of the psalmist who said, “Yea, though I walk though the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

The S stands for step out in faith. Settle the issue of whether or not you believe God is enough – big, powerful and compassionate enough to do what He has promised in His Word. What you do after that is either take a step of faith, or turn and head back towards the Egypt of the world.

The T stands for trust. Realize that God is in control. Faith has two components: belief, which is intellectual; and trust, which is personal, experiential, and appropriational. It’s turning off the light at night as you say, “Lord, please take over the night shift. There’s no sense in both of us staying awake worrying about this.”

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:26-29