God's Rest

The Tree of Life is the pure God-life of the Lord Jesus Christ, made available to us through His sacrifice and resurrection. He’s in the midst of the garden of our hearts. He did it all and now draws us to walk in all He has done. We are no longer to eat from the Tree of Good and Evil as we have in former days. In the rest He brings, we know our good works, if done by us and not led by the Holy Spirit, are no more acceptable than the bad things that need to be purged.

We are learning how to enter into His promised rest for those with faith:

“We may be afraid, then, lest at some time, a promise being left of entering into His stopping, any of you may be seeming to be deficient…

But the Word heard does not benefit those hearers, not having been blended together with faith in those who hear. Then we who believe are entering into the stopping…

For He who is entering into His stopping, he also stops from his works even as God from His own.” Hebrews 4:1-3;10 Concordant

The Concordant Literal version of the Bible calls God’s rest a “stopping.” Isn’t that beautiful? His rest is a stopping, a ceasing of our works and a surrender of faith in His work within us. In Hebrews 3, God chastises some for their stubbornness and idolatry. They continually strayed in their hearts, displaying unbelief. They could not enter into His rest in their present condition.

Stopping our own efforts to change ourselves and others is the key to entering into the rest promised for us here on this earth. We realize that we have nothing to offer to our God except faith. We have become weary of soul-driven external works, visible to others but not prompted by the Holy Spirit. And it is not that His rest means doing nothing. We may do many things as they are led by God. In His rest, we can do them with peace and joy, only motivated to please Him.

Further on in Hebrews 4:

“Since, then, it remains for some to enter His rest, and since those who formerly heard the good news did not enter because of their disobedience, God again designated a certain day as '‘Today,” when a long time later He spoke through David as was just stated:

‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.

There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:6-11 Berean

When we are entering into His rest, His leading is to stop doing our own works. He teaches us to withdraw from unprofitable activities, including religious activities, that are pleasing others or we believe are necessary to earn our salvation. We walk away from all that is unnecessary for our maturity in Him. The truth is that we can do many things “for Christ” that do not nurture the Christ within us. When these things are done to please men, or to look outwardly religious, or out of fear rather than love, they are not a part of the rest of God.

The word translated “effort” in the above passage is translated as “labour” in the King James Version. But that sounds like working at resting rather than resting in God’s work in us! It is useful to examine the Greek word labor in this passage, “spoudazo,” translated also “to use speed, be prompt or earnest, give diligence, or endeavor.” It comes from the root word “spoude” meaning “speed or eagerness.”

We are to endeavor to surrender our will and decisions to Him, to learn to stop our own planned activities, expectatons, rules, and ways we come up with to please the Lord, and be earnest about trusting ourselves to God. This understanding of “effort” or “labour” assures us that we are not told to work at resting! Rather, it is an eager, speedy focus we are to undertake with diligence. It’s our priority, a goal to pursue promptly, something we’re eager in our hearts to obtain.

We fully realize that we are His project, not our own fruitless efforts to become righteous.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 ESV

God surely works to bring the unnecessary things that we do to an end. Our Lord strips us of all we do that is not motivated by His spirit. It is, in particular a stopping of external religious deeds and actions that do not result in heart change. Our motives are no longer to do good works to be seen of others, because of others’ Christian expectations, to keep up with someone else, because of tradition, because we feel guilty or cannot say no, or just to keep ourselves busy. All keeps us from having time to stop, to rest and grow within, just enjoying our God.

As He continues to clear out our hearts, much of what we used to do “for God” in the church realm particularly, fades away. This includes relationships that are not edifying as well as those activities with no spiritual gain. Some of our Christian brothers and sisters are unable to edify others due to their own conditions. God is in charge of our relationships and is careful, even protective, of His own.

Some relationships are just unprofitable, even spiritually draining. After a season, others become no longer mutually growth-producing in our spiritual walk. God changes how we spend our time with others, releasing us from relationships that are no longer a part of His plan for us. He leads us to examine our “have to’s,” the pressures and demands that others and ourselves put upon our lives. We are weaned away from external, flesh-driven business for God until, more and more, we can be at peace in the doing of only what He leads us to do.

Rather than a list of the do’s and don’ts, we lose our desire to do many things, as they are no longer of interest to us. Those we have been fellowshiping with may not understand that God may have called us to walk together with others, to change in our fellowship with others in Christian love and fellowship. It is hard to leave long-term relationships because God is leading us to do so, but not all Christian relationships or fellowships are eternal.

Entering into His stopping seems to lead more often to walking alone with God, drawing from His spirit and learning of His ways to be written in our hearts. We fellowship with the saints as God leads, but we no longer seek Him primarily in great meetings or ministries, or through others. We seek times to be with God one-on-one. If God has called us into personal ministry or counseling, we need to be particularly wise about what we do and how we spend our time away from your calling.

Jesus had times of rest in His ministry, times where he enjoyed fellowship, and those precious hours He spent just with the Father. When our calling is to minister directly to others, demands and needs are endles. A heart of compassion can lead ministry to overcommit and become worn out. It may be zeal rather than the Spirit that is prompting such overactivity. Ministers and counselors can become so drained by carrying burdens, often more than God puts on them, that they neglect their own family relationships, health, and times of rest. And who ministers to the ministers?

To “minister” is to “serve” in both the Old Testament Hebrew and the New Testament Greek. These relationships where we are serving each other are most precious, yet there are also people who are “leeches” that suck the lifeblood from Christian fellowships and leaders. These are believers who remain dependent long after they should have some maturity of their own. Some of us are too helpful, continually offering assistance regardless of need. We create dependence when we do something for others that they are actually able to do for themselves.

The Apostle Paul calls these Christians “babes in Christ.”

“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food. In fact, you are still not ready, for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?” 1 Corinthians 3:1-3 Berean

Fleshly jealousy and division, conflicts about who does what, who leads or follows, these are worldly, childish things that drain the spirit. Paul had to deal with these things with the Corinthians rather than ministering a deeper word to them. They still needed the basics of how to behave as loving brothers and sisters in Christ. This was still the “milk” of the word when they should be ready for the “meat” of deeper things for spiritual growth.

It’s obvious what a newborn baby can do for themselves—nothing! But it is less obvious when newborn babies in Christ begin to grow and need to do more in their own walk with God rather than always seeking out others. Some believers always have a problem, an issue, an offense, a trial, that they need others to attend to for them. Some Christian leadership may even prefer keeping their followers dependent upon them and their ministry rather than growing up in their own personal relationship with God.

Neither the one who remains dependent nor the one who fosters such dependency can enter into the rest of God. Paul knew the Corinthian believers needed to grow up. He had not been able to minister more than the beginning “milk” of the word because of their immaturity and carnality. These babes in Christ remained immature in their hearts, not growing up into the character of Christ over time.

Newborn babies are very needy—for a time. New Christians start as babes, needing nourishment to build their foundation in Christ, but babes continue to have needs that they cannot meet, so they turn to others to meet them. New Christians are to grow up into Him. Those who refuse to grow not only limit themselves but also those who minister to them.

“Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” 1 Peter 2:2 Berean

The milk of the word deals with these fundamental sinful attitudes of the heart. How many o fus mature Christians would be offended to be considered babes because of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander? It takes the maturing towards the character and heart of Christ formed within for changes in our spiritual walk. If you are not seeing changes within, if your walk remains the same as it was in prior times, you need to get closer to God!

The Israelites had a lack of faith so they could not enter in to rest during their era. We, too, cannot enter in if we have unbelief in what God has said. We continue being carnal when we harbor envy and strife, causing division among the brethren. We are not and cannot be at rest when such fleshly things are working in our hearts. Rest in the Lord is impossible as long as we are preserving self-focused motivations such as pride, envy, and self-justification.

Envy, strife, and division are natural and common to man but Christ is not divided. God hates when anyone works division and strife among the brethren. It’s in God’s list of the 7 things He hates:

“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil, a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.” Proverbs 6:16-18 Berean

All of these characteristics are motives of the heart that God hates, signs of immaturity from failing to grow up into the love of God. There is no division in love, agape love that is God’s nature. Mature Christians edify others, not tear down, gossip about, or stir up discord and strife about them. We are to be a peculiar, special people showing forth the love of God. That is something we can do through resting in God’s provision for us, accessing all that Jesus died for so that we can truly live in Him.

It is also challenging for those of us who love our Lord so much to allow God to strip us of activities that are not expedient for us or our spiritual growth. We so much want to do something for God, to show Him how much we love Him. Of course, we want to spread the good word of the gospel to others so they will love Him, too. Yet we tend to focus on doing when we need to focus on being. There is no rest in imbalance in our daily lives that are so full of the activities for God that we have no time to just be with Him and enjoy fellowship with Him!

How does God teach us a balance in what He calls us to do? Though the word “balance” is not in the Bible, all of God’s creation shows forth the perfect balance of His creative nature. God is a perfect balance of mercy and justice. All of the characteristics of our Lord are in beautiful harmony with each other. What God made, His creation, was in perfect balance until the world’s growing population and careless stewardship of the earth began to unbalance the natural order He so beautifully established on our earth.

Watch any flora and fauna nature documentary and you see the exquisite balance of nature that God created and the natural world maintains—when allowed to do so. We ignorant humans have routinely and repeatedly disrupted this balance. With all the changes man brings to this world, present disruptions are even more rapid and are becomeing increasingly deadly, not just to plants and animals but to humans.

We are learning the hard lesson that we can’t just wipe out parts of God’s creation without harming His balance, bringing severe, though usually unintended, consequences.

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.

Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:7-10 NIV

Nature, including human nature, is designed to seek a balance. All systems seek this balance called homeostasis. Homeostasis is the self-regulating process where we always seek a stable state when adjusting to varying external conditions. Gravity illustrates this. Put a straw on an unstable surface and watch it try to balance itself. Homeostasis is a natural state that all systems seek according to God’s design.

It’s part of why we get stuck in old ways when that has become our natural, familiar state. After a disruption for whatever reason, it takes a while to find a new homeostasis, to be balanced again. When we begin to change—or change comes upon us— our balance or homeostasis, our familiar “comfort zone,” is unstable until we find balance in the new. Every couple ever joined goes through this process of individual to relationship stability. Every person experiences life’s endings and losses that disrupt the way we’ve come to live our lives.

Balance brings harmony, built into all biological systems, including humans. It takes much wisdom and commitment to learn ways we can coexist with each other over time. As shown so powerfully in nature, we have to learn to balance human needs with other forms of life in our ever-expanding world population, enabling all to make a living for their families along with the requirements for nature to thrive.

God is able to provide wisdom and balance in even these circumstances. Whether God is always credited with these solutions, He always makes a way of escape!

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness since what may be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-20 NIV

God has shown Himself to humans since the creation of the world. Though He is invisible, His qualities are seen in what He has created. Our God is a Lord of balance and of contrasts. In the Bible, God talks about balance by using the word “moderation.” Moderation is defined as “temperance; the act of imposing due restraint, calmness of mind, equanimity.” Moderation is used regarding Christian behavior in several translations of Philippians 4:5:

“Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4;5-7 KJV

In this scripture, the word moderation is also translated as “lenience” (Concordant), “gentleness” (NIV), and “forbearing spirit” (NASB and Amplified). These words may not seem to connect directly with a balance to bring the rest we are endeavoring to understand. But look at the words that follow in the scripture. This moderation in all things brings peace and rest. And rest is a keeper, going far beyond natural understanding.

We are made to be in balance, fully equipped to learn to enter into His rest. In fact, we can be at rest when there is no earthly reason to be! God’s peace and rest follow moderation, not because of what we do but how and why we do it. It is our heart’s motives that require examination. It can be a shock to some of us Christians when we realize how much we have done that wasn’t God’s idea!

Sometimes such actions are not blessed with successful outcomes, making it obvious whose idea it was. Other times, we may dutifully continue to do things that God is no longer leading us to do, with others benefitting though it is costing us rest. Other people, and even ministries, greatly appreciate our good works benefitting them and their works. The more programs and activities a church has, the better reputation it garners. And we, too, appear blessed in others’ eyes, looking holy and righteous. After all, these are good works, not bad things.

Others will allow us keep doing good works if it benefits them and may be the first to judge us severely when we stop. More than one Christian entering into God’s rest gets accused of being selfish or backslidden when we are no longer performing like others think we should or we’ve taught them to expect of us. These same good works, however, can exhaust and drain us in ways God never intended. And it may be those who most need to enter into God’s rest that get the most disturbed!

We can resent the peace and rest, the balance that others have achieved when we don’t have it. We see how the other person is not working nearly as hard or as often as we are in their walk with the Lord. They are enjoying their life balance while we are slaving away at what God has called us to do. We are the Marthas of the world, when the Lord is drawing us to be Marys, those who sit at His feet:

“As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message.

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!’

‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord replied, ‘you are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.’” Luke 10:38-42 Berean

Jesus was clear about what was important, and it surely was not all the fussing and planning Martha had allowed to distress her. Well, you might say, someone has to do it! Yes, but God is able to teach us what is important when. We may need to learn to be at rest when there is still much to be done. It may not occur to us to learn from others who are examples, like Mary, prioritizing those times at Jesus’ feet. Not everyone was raised to “do, do, do” as some of us were. We truly can learn from others who show a balanced life we have yet to establish in our Christian walk.

God plants the idea for many good things, that’s not debatable. But we are cautioned even then to have a balance. The question: Is what you are doing motivated by your flesh or God’s spirit?

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16 NASB

So we ask: “Lord, teach us to live today in this world. Give us our daily bread and show us the path of life for each of us day by day as your Spirit leads.” The hours a person works are not the key to how stressful that work is for them. It is the attitudes and motives of the heart that wear us out! If we are driven to help others, to “do for God,” have many friends, make money, achieve outward evidence of success, have a “need to be needed,” desire time for vacations and entertainment, etc., etc., there is the source of our stress!

These are all good things, but if we have resentful attitudes about work, like Martha did, frustration with colleagues who are not doing their part,, we need either a change in our attitudes, if not our circumstances. We may be truly doing what God has led us to be involved in, called us to do. But we need a heart change before we are able to enter into His rest in the doing. We must do what we are called to do, that is certain. But we are not to be overburdened in the doing of it. When we walk fully in God’s will for us, we can learn to rest in Him doing it from within us.

God is able to show us how to be “in the world but not of the world,” when we are unable to separate from others. Those in religious vocations that call for separation from the world still have to deal with what is in their own hearts. When they live in groups of believers who are called to detach from the outer world, they still have to deal with relationships impacting their peaceful lives. They may have let go of much of those outer things that others have or are exposed to, but God still wants to claim their inner land.

It is not the outward separation from the world but rather the inner separation of our hearts from carnal thoughts and behaviors, to which God is drawing us. God changes outward activities, including enjoyable activities distracting from our spiritual growth, as He is always prioritizing the heart. But if we are “giving up” things for God but still want to do them, it is a beginning but not a fullness in His rest. It becomes will worship rather than surrender.

Isn’t it wonderful that God can truly change the desires of our hearts, so there’s no “giving up” to it? It’s no longer a sacrifice but a path of rest when God changes our desires and interests. We no longer want to do those former things God is eliminating from our lives. When they are purged from our hearts, we do not miss them. We are “dead” to them. We learn how much is enough, a balance of serving from the place of rest God creates within us.

Another source of stress and unrest we humans battle is trying to control the uncontrollable. This is particularly challenging for Christians who are perfectionists. God creates some of His own with a strong focus on wanting things to be right. God deals with our imperfect world and is in ultimate control of it all, but oh, my, consider all the out-of-control things He sees going on in this world! He nonetheless remains true to his perfect and right(eous) standard, resting in the plan that He began at the foundation of the world.

We all spend far too much time worrying about things we can’t control, which includes other people as well as the future. God knows that what He wills, will happen. He knows our frame and loves the perfectionist, making use, in balance, of this characteristic. Perfectionists are often the ones who hold up God’s standard of righteousness and truth for the rest of us. But life can be difficult for them as well as for others around them, as no one is perfect but the Lord.

We all can learn to rest in God’s ultimate plan, trusting in faith that everything will work out right regardless of our attempts to control the outcome. The Lord tells us in Matthew 6:34:

“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34 KJV

He is reminding us that we can only handle today. The troubles of tomorrow are not to weigh us down today. That’s the only way His “yoke is easy and His burden is light” – by not carrying yesterday’s or tomorrow’s burdens today. This is most difficult! Nonetheless, it is a key part of entering into His rest. We do have to consider the future when we make necessary plans. We need to learn from the past when we move into the present.

But, we are not to dwell upon or ruminate about the past or the future. We are to forget the past because it is dead and gone, and the future is yet to come. Here’s a chorus that expresses this beautifully:

Yesterday is yesterday, the past is dead and gone.

Yesterday is yesterday, you know you’re not alone.

You let the love of Jesus come into your heart.

You let the love of Jesus give new life a start.

(Author unknown)

We let, and He brings His new spiritual life to us. Whatever He directs, He also enables us to do. Faith in this truth brings about rest. Some of us know quite well how to work at things. We’ve been raised to be this way and know how to work hard. But when God knocks on our spiritual door to be let in, guiding us to a stop, we are clueless! When God tells us just to relax, we may cry out, as I did; “But I don’t know how!”

We don’t know how to practice mindfulness, a practice that teaches how to stay in the present, to focus on the moment. So many precious moments slip through our hands when we are stuck in the past or worrying about the future. Thankfully, our God is the best mindfulness teacher there is! God teaches us how to live in the present, in balance, while doing our required and necessary planning and preparation for tomorrow. We roll our cares upon Him because He cares for us.

When we slow down, we begin to notice the beauty around us, all the multitude of little daily gifts and provisions that God has given. Our slower pace of living allows a growth of thanksgiving and gratitude. In godliness and contentment, there is great gain! It is easier for us who are privileged to have our basic needs met than for those who must work day and night to survive and provide for their families. Yet there are cultures who live very simply, with great happiness, without all the things we consider essential

We all must learn to recognize what only God’s mighty hand can do.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, so that in due time He may exalt you.

Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 Berean

We may not think we are being proud and arrogant when we continue to do, do, do, or try to control things that only God can, but here it is. We are to humble ourselves under His mighty hand, recognizing that not one of us is essential to God. He is essential to us. We have no life without Him. He created us to be in relationship with Him. He not only loves us, He likes us! It is His good pleasure to give us the Kingdom, but it still belongs to Him and He is to be our center.

We can cast all that is weighing us down upon Him, because He loves us. We are His and we do not belong to ourselves. Rest is not “working at getting rid of,” “trying to die to..” or “dying to self.” Rest is a ceasing of labor, an inner quality that is present regardless of life’s demands. God knows our differing circumstances. Have you ever admired the rest, peace, and joy that parents raising a large family display? They show God’s rest in a way that those of us with one precious child may never exhibit!

The person who spends hours and hours at the work God has given them in peace and joy, knowing they are in the center of His will, is more at rest than the person who spends less time but it always troubled in the doing of it. It is not these external demands, or the circumstances of our lives, or the expectations of others. It is the attitudes within that bring rest or rob us of it. God’s changes written within our hearts are lasting, unlike the present circumstances of our differing lives.

God is so faithful to us! He is able to lead all into the rest that He has promised for those who love Him. The tests may be different but the lessons are the same. He brings a peace that is inside, becoming unshakable within us. This peace and rest is far beyond what humans can explain because it is a work of God. His peace guards our hearts and minds, far beyond and transcending any human understanding and explanation for it. These are the circumstances in which Christians shine forth with the fruit of the spirit, the peace, love and joy that brings rest to our souls—and yes, even to our bodies!

Others who do not know or serve God just don’t get why we are not frantic or upset when trouble surrounds us. There can be a storm, a whirlwind or tornado all around us, yet we are in the center with God while He holds the storm back from us. This stems from surrender to God in all that is allowed to come into our lives. We can bring anything and everything to our Lord, running to Him in thanksgiving and praise as we ask for what is needed. He then reassures our hearts of His faithfulness and love for His own.

“Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God.

And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].” Philippians 4:7 Amplified

As we rest in Him, the Lord increases within us until it is an overflow of Him swallowing up death in life. God is teaching His people in this hour to come to rest in Him. Do you hear His invitation to the promise of entering in to His rest? We can learn how to live in it, day by day, as we walk hand in hand with our Lord.