◄ What Does Hebrews 4:10 Mean? ►

When God completed His work of creation, He rested from His labour on the seventh day – He rested from His work on the Sabbath. God was not tired or weary and needed to take a rest. Rather, His work of creation was finished and so He rested.

There is still a rest for the people of God – there is a Sabbath-rest for the people of God, but what does the writer of Hebrews mean when he talks about Sabbath-rest?

Hebrews is written to believers who are the new creation in Christ. The writer of Hebrews is talking to Christians who have accepted the Lord Jesus as Saviour, being born again and in so doing, have entered into Christ, have become a part of His Body, and have entered into the rest of Jesus.

Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, resting from His finished work on the Cross. And all that are in Christ are seated with Him in heavenly places. All that are in Christ can also enter into His rest by faith, by simply resting on His Word – by simply standing on the promises of God.

The writer of Hebrews goes on to say, "Let us be diligent to enter into that rest," When we are saved, God does not then force His rest on us. We choose to enter into the sweet rest He offers to us, by diligently relying on Jesus and not our own strength, by choosing to trust Him, moment by moment, by faith.

Oh, entering into His rest and falling out of that rest has no bearing on our salvation. Once we are saved, we are always saved, but we can choose to live each day in a state of resting in Him and His precious promises (which are steadfast and sure, unchanging and true), or we can choose to live in a state of restlessness, agitation, and exertion, by trying to do things in our own strength in our own way.

Let us come boldly to the throne of grace and lay down anything that hinders us from entering His Sabbath-rest. The rest we can only find in Jesus, as we trust Him to keep us in perfect peace. While we are still living in this world in our bodies, our rest is in Him – we rest in His Word and we rest in His promises.

Loving Father, thank you that Christ Jesus is my rest. Sometimes I forget that resting in Him is simply appropriating Your Word and accepting your precious promises, by faith. I pray that, day by day, I may rest in Jesus by trusting my life into His hands and trusting the Word of truth in my life. In Jesus' name, AMEN.