REST… This is a touchy subject. Do you think you rest enough? Do you rest well? I definitely know that the past 2 months I haven't been resting the right way, and Yes! there is a right way. This is my eighth month on the WorldRace and it's not easy… Now I could go on and talk about Martha and Mary and which one was actually doing what God wanted… But I'm sure you already know that story. I'm just going to read you a few different verses to better make sense of what RESTING truly is. You see in Hebrews chapter 4 it says..
4:1… "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it."
So God actually made us (HIS CHILDREN/ HEIRS Romans 8:17) a promise, or covenant, that we can enter His rest: his peace and/or presence. And we would be considered "fallen short" if we don't take advantage of His promise. I guess I can say I have truly fallen short then, because I never take advantage of his promise of REST. God continues to throw passages at me like this one.
Isaiah 40:30-31… "Even youth grows tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the lord will renew thier strength."
Feeeewheeew! All we have to do is hope!
Hope- a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen.
So if we put all of our expectations and desires in Christ, He will renew our weariness and tiredness with His strength because we are choosing to rest in Him.
When Jesus said…. "It is finished." The veil was torn-the veil that seperated us from the Holy of Holies, where the high priest entered only once a year. It was torn because of the sacrifice He made. Okay now hold that thought. So do you remember when Jesus gave His disciples bread and wine, in His rememberance, on the last supper? He says in 1 Corinthians 11:25.
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood.."
and in Jerimiah 31:33 it talks about the comming of a new covenant where Christ will…
"Put [his] law in [our] minds and write it on [our] hearts."
Also the whole 10th chapter of Hebrews explains the new covenant and what it represents [you should stop and read it now]. So if the veil was torn and the new covenant was instated because of the death of christ, where is it that the Holy of Holies now resides?
Presence- The state or fact of existing, occuring, or being present.
The Holy of Holies is indeed the Spirit of God-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So the Holy of Holies now resides within us. Christ died for us because He loves us, but also so that we may have eternal life and peace within ourselves due to the Spirit of the Lord who lives in us since his death. Without his death we would all be creatures of sinful nature with nowhere else to go but Hell, because there is no salvation without Christ Jesus.
I'm verbalizing this out loud so I hope I haven't lost you yet…
So back to REST… If we are called to "Rest in the presence of the Lord." (That same presence that lives inside of us now)…Doesn't that mean we are able to rest in Him all day, everyday? I believe that if Christ resides inside of me (He, His peace and his presence live in my heart), it probably means I can rest in knowing he's done everything for the good of me so that His spirit will always be with me. And His spirit has the ability to put my mind and heart at rest like no other. Better then a spa or a massage, better then a peaceful sleep or a nap, better then a summer's day relaxing and lounging. Being at a constant rest with God means having him near all day[seeking Him in all you do] and trust in Him. And in doing that all day, you will truly see how tiredness, fatigue of the repetative schedule, and life just gets better-but only when you choose to REST in him daily.
~tatiana famania
