“But with whom was He grieved 40 years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom swore He that they should not enter into His Rest, but to them that believed not? So, we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”
Hebrews 3:17-19
The key is surrender; the result is serenity-of-soul.
“The Promised Rest.”
They were so close, yet so far. Such was the case that day when the Children of Israel stood on the border of the Promised Land (Num. 13:1-2). They’d experienced God’s miraculous deliverance from Egypt after 430 years of captivity through the 10 Plagues and subsequent parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 3:14-14:31).
And, here they stood. . .on the brink of “entering into” that Land that “flowed with milk and honey” just as God had promised (Ex. 3:8; Num. 13:27; Dt. 1:25). . .yet, through fear and faithlessness, they “refused to enter in because of unbelief.”
Truly, they’d lost their “focus.”
Instead of keeping their eyes upon the One Who’d delivered them, they were looking at the giants in the Land (Num. 13:29) and considering themselves as little more than “grasshoppers in THEIR OWN SIGHT” (v.33b)—which, consequently, caused them to also appear that way to the enemy (v.33c).
Such is always the case with a rebellious, faithless, hardened heart.
And, the result is always a “restlessness of soul.”
Never satisfied. Always seeking. Always frustrated. Always critical. Always condescending. Always cold and callused.
But, it need not be that way, Pilgrim—not when the Master has called and said “Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I’ll give you rest” (Mt. 11:28).
What a Blessed Invitation! And, what indescribably-delicious Rest (Phil. 4:7). Hallelujah!!
Yet, the key to “entering in” is “submitting to” Christ’s “Yoke” (Mt. 11:29-30). It’s being willingly “chained to His Chariot” as a “surrendered-slave” to go where He sends. . .do what He says. . .and speak what He decrees (e.g., Ezekiel—Ez. 37:1-14).
Again, the key is surrender.
Yielding to the Master. Saying, “Speak, Lord—for your servant hears” (I Sam. 3:10) and “Here am I; send me” (Is. 6:8).
Rest = relinquishment. Relinquishment of my “rights.” Relinquishment of my reputation. Relinquishment of my will to His.
Only then can I “know Him and the power of His Resurrection” (Phil. 3:10a). Only then. But, oh, how sweet the resulting Rest that comes by “abiding in Him” (Jn. 15:1-7) and “walking in His Spirit” (Rom. 8:1; Prov. 3:5-6). Have you “entered in,” Pilgrim? Or, are you still “on the outside looking in?” Today’s the “Day of Rest.” Come. Enter in. Rest.
By Tom Smith Morning Manna December 14, 2010
