When people think of overcoming an obstacle, no matter the type or magnitude of the situation, they don't often (naturally) see "Rest," as a key tactic or sound strategy. I don't know about you, but I know for me, there are marked moments the Lord speaks to me in such a precise manner, that it changes everything. Marked moments that are so indelibly carved into my memory that I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing the moment I heard. One of these moments for me was when I heard the Lord say, "Rest will be your final key to victory in every situation."
During the time in my life when the Lord was first speaking to me on His idea of what rest is and how it applies to my life, I was on staff at a church and was asked to lead staff devotions one morning. As I started to share a little of the Lord was showing me, a phone rang and a coworker left the group huddle and rushed off to answer, but not before saying, "Excuse me while I go to work, while you all stay here and rest-- somebody still has to work." He thought he was amusing, but I've come to see this attitude repeatedly in the Body of Christ and it's an attitude that stems from a misunderstanding of what Biblical rest truly is.
One of the most profound passages on rest can be found in Hebrews. Hebrews 3 & 4 recount the history of the children of Israel during the time of Moses. The Hebrews had been slaves in Egypt for more than 400 years and God sends a deliverer, in the person of Moses, to lead them out of bondage and captivity. God performs many great signs, wonders and miracles before them. Not only the ten plagues against Egypt and Pharaoh, but the protection of all of the Israelites throughout the duration of these plagues. God brings them out, allowing the Israelites to cross the Red Sea on dry land, subsequently drowning the Egyptian armies that pursued behind them. But His provision and protection doesn't end there. God continues to provide for their every need as He is leading them to the land of Canaan-- a land promised to their forefather Abraham, and his descendants,(repeatedly) by God. God's presence is tangible and physical to them-- a cloud by day to protect them from the scorching dessert sun, a pillar of fire by night to keep them warm and to lead the way. He sends down manna, (aka Angels Food) as a daily provision, He brings water flowing from a rock to quench their thirst and sustain them. God lovingly provides for their every need despite their constant griping, complaining and doubting. God was longing to bring His people from Egyptian slavery into a place of rest where He, alone, provided for their every need. In Exodus 33:14, God assures Moses His presence will go with him as he leads the people into the Promised Land, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you REST."
No matter how much good God did, the Israelites could only focus on the negative and their perceived hinderances. Not only were there already people living in Canaan who Israel would have to defeat, but there were several other hostile lands they would pass through along their journey. However, before a single battle had been fought, God calls out every single one of their enemies by name and assures them that He had already delivered every last one of them into their hands. As far as God was concerned, it was a done deal if only the Israelites would have the courage to walk out the victory He had already secured for them. He simply needed them to have faith that that He was able to bring to pass what He had promised. God gave them endless reasons to have faith in Him, Yet we continually see a people without faith. Over and over again while seeing daily miraculous signs, they declared to Moses, "Why have you brought us out into the wilderness to die? We would have been better off in Egypt."
When they finally get close to Canaan, Moses sends in 12 spies to survey the land and their enemies. 10 of the 12 come back saying it's a hopeless cause, only Joshua and Caleb see God, His promise and His track record as being bigger than the "giants" inhabiting the land. God is offering them a land flowing with milk and honey, "Land for which you did not labor, cities which you did not build...vineyards and olive groves you did not plant," (Joshua 2:13). He took them out of slavery to bring them to a place of REST, where the work had all been finished and completed for them, yet they refused to believe in Him, to take Him at His word. Instead, they began plotting to stone Joshua and Caleb because they dared to believe the word of The Lord.
When the people of Israel refused to inhabit Canaan, even after the Lord had given them every assurance of victory, the Bible says God then swore in His wrath that every man (age 20 and upward) who came out of Egypt with Moses would not enter His rest (the land promised to them by God) because of their unbelief. God then sends them wandering 40 years in the desert as these generations all pass away-- only Joshua and Caleb were spared along with the youth who came out of Egypt. This story speaks volumes to those of us who think that we would believe if only we could SEE. Surely, blessed is he who believes and does not see except with the eyes of his heart.
Did you know that Israel's disobedience in the wilderness is good news for us today? Hebrews 3 & 4 tell us that because the nation of Israel refused to enter His rest-- His promise of rest still remains for us today! And this promise of rest is now FAR GREATER because Christ Jesus Himself (and not mere man) has now become our High Priest. We are grafted into a covenant no longer between God and man, but between God and Christ Jesus-- neither of Whom are capable of failure. This promise of rest that still remains for us today no longer hinges on man's obedience, but this rest has been secured and is waiting for us BECAUSE JESUS WAS ALREADY OBEDIENT. The first three chapters of Hebrews illustrate the divinity of Jesus and show how He is superior to the angels and also to Moses and an equal to Father God, Himself. There is a constant imploring in these first three chapters to take heed, to "[thoughtfully and attentively] consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest Whom we confessed [as ours when we embraced the Christian faith] (3:1, AMP)."
"Today if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.' So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' (Hebrews 3:7-11).
"Therefore while the promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered today, let us be afraid to distrust it, lest any of you should think he has come too late and has come short of reaching it. For indeed we have had the glad tidings [Gospel of God] proclaimed to us just as truly as they [the Israelites of old did when the good news of deliverance from bondage came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not mixed with faith (with the leaning of the entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness) by those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, in accordance with His declaration that those [who did not believe] should not enter when He said, As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest; and this He said although His works had been completed and prepared [and waiting for all who would believe] from the foundation of the world. For in a certain place He has said this about the seventh day: And God rested on the seventh day from all His works. And they forfeited their part in it." (Hebrews 4:1-5)
I love what God is telling us here. The same was true for the nation of Israel that is still true for us today-- ALL of the work necessary for every last thing we will ever have need of was provided for at the foundation of the world and just waiting for all who would believe. It almost boggles my mind to conceive this, but when God spoke the world and all of creation into existence-- The words He spoke forth were so full, so complete, that in those words was embedded the full plan for the redemption of humanity. He is Wisdom Himself. When He rested on the seventh day, He had not only created all of the heavens, the earth and mankind, He had made a way, a provision for everything mankind would ever have need of. When you believe according to His Word, you are not trying to make something happen, you are simply putting yourself into position to receive, by faith, what's already been created, provided and given to you. You know what really stands out to me about this passage? There was a truth about the Father and about His goodness that the Israelites did not know. No matter how much He tried to convey it to them, they did not know how good God was. And the Word tells us that because they didn't know of His goodness, they couldn't have faith in that goodness and consequently they could not benefit from His goodness. God provided EVERYTHING. Their only responsibility was to believe in what they could perceive, daily, with their physical senses. For us today-- our only responsibility is to believe in the Father and His goodness. What is it that you're waiting on the Lord for? What kind of breakthrough do you need? Maybe you need healing in your body, deliverance from bondage or a miracle in your finances-- whatever it is-- the work is already complete, the manifestation of that promise is already waiting for you and it has been since God rested on the seventh day of creation. This is a whole separate teaching, but He's not even looking to you for YOUR faith, the Word tells us that we've all been given the same measure of faith and it's the faith of Jesus Himself (Romans 12:3). So stop looking to your own faith and look to Jesus, thoughtfully and attentively consider Him and watch your faith effortlessly rise.
"Again He sets a definite day, [a new] Today, and gives another opportunity of securing that rest saying...Today, if you would hear His voice and when you hear it, do not harden your hearts. This mention of a rest was not a reference to their entering into Canaan. For if Joshua had given them rest, He [God] would not speak afterward about another day. So then, there is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath-rest reserved for the [true] people of God; For he who has entered God's rest also has ceased from the weariness and pain of human labors, just as God rested from those labors, peculiarly His own. Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of God, to know and experience it for ourselves], that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience [into which those in the wilderness fell]. (Hebrews 4:7-11)
I love how clearly this passage illustrates what true, Biblical rest is-- "Ceasing from the weariness and pain of human labors." If you have not already read it, I encourage you to go back and read my first blog post, The One Man. We have to come to the realization that there are no works of our own that can qualify us for eternal life or to receive anything from the Lord. Any blessing we receive from the Father is because of Jesus, His work, His sacrifice, His qualification-- not our own. Jesus has done it all-- just as God was trying to do for the people of Israel to bring them into that Promised Land, a place of rest-- this is what He's calling us to today. He wants us to rest in the finished work of Jesus and simply receive what's already been provided for us.
Many years ago now, I heard my senior Pastor, Pastor Joseph Prince, ministering about Abraham-- specifically from Paul's account in Romans 4:19-20, "He (Abraham) did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah's [deadened] womb. No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God, fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised." Another translation says, "Abraham stood steadfast in his faith, giving glory to God." Pastor Prince pointed back to the word in this verse used for "Glory." When we think of glory, we tend to think of majesty and splendor, but the actual word used here is "Doxan" and it's primary definition is "Good opinion." That literally, Abraham stood steadfast in his faith by having a good opinion of The Lord! When you consider Abraham and his story-- he had a million reasons to throw in the towel. God promises descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky, that he would be the father of a great and mighty nation. But yet at 100 years old, he had no children, his wife Sarah was completely barren and at 90 years old, was long past the years of bearing children. There was a looooong period of time between the promise given to Abraham and any sign of a manifestation of that promise. Then there was the matter of Abraham and Sarah trying to take matters into their own hands and producing an heir by Sarah's maidservant, Hagar. If that wasn't enough, once Sarah does finally give birth to Isaac-- God asks Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son and heir, though stops him at the very last moment and gives him a ram to sacrifice instead. If anyone has reason to give up on God-- it was Abraham. God was taking a long time to deliver on His promise, Abraham had failed God, the list goes on and on. YET THROUGH IT ALL, ABRAHAM NEVER GAVE UP HIS GOOD OPINION OF THE LORD. Even when God asked him to sacrifice his son and heir, the Bible tells us that Abraham had such a good opinion of the Lord that he knew that if he killed Isaac, God would raise him back from the dead. When I heard this, I meditated on it and took it to heart. From that point on, any time my husband and I have been facing a situation that had unknowns or uncertainties, every single time a thought, concern or fear would come to mind, I would make myself stop and (physically) say, "Lord I choose to have a good opinion of You!" There were days that I said this 500 times. But you know what I discovered? That when I stopped and did this, it brought my soul (my mind, my will and my emotions) into agreement and REST with the truth my spirit already knows-- God is good, He is for me, not against me. What He said He would do, He is able to bring it to pass. Since we have started doing this, we have seen untold, quick manifestations of the promises and blessings of God in our lives. I cannot tell you how many times we have had supernatural favor. I have lost count of how many times my husband's salary has been doubled-- just in the past 6 years since we have been married. When you can get your soul into alignment with the truth and rest your spirit already knows, your breakthrough is imminent.
It is interesting that Hebrews tells us to "Labor diligently to enter that rest." We are to labor diligently and zealously to keep ourselves in a place of peace to know that Jesus has done all the work on our behalf-- that He is calling us to a place of rest where His love, His provision, His healing (everything we have need of) can flow, unhindered to and through us. This is precisely what He was wanting to provide for the children of Israel-- to bring them to a land where the work had already been done for them (cities they did not build, vineyards they did not plant). He simply wanted them, as He wants us, to be beneficiaries of what He's accomplished and allow the fullness of Who He is to flow freely to us (meeting our needs) and through us (good works) to others. I was just listening to our pastor teach from John 15 on "I am the Vine, you are the branches." He so eloquently showed that when we are trying and striving to bear fruit, we are clenching and cutting off the supply of the Vine. The branch doesn't labor, it is the vine that is responsible to nourish and provide-- the branch just needs to receive and allow the True Vine (Who is always producing everything you have need of) to produce the fruit! When you start focusing on yourself, your effort, your faith, it's as if the branch is clenching and cutting off the nutrients and supply at the source.
I will close with this one last story. My husband and I just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary this past March. Our favorite getaway has become Banff, Canada where we spent our honeymoon in 2009. Not just any place in Banff, but the Banff Springs Hotel, specifically the spa at the Banff Springs Hotel. It's a very exclusive, luxurious spa. You enter through either the mens or the ladies dressing rooms. As you walk past the dressing area you walk through an area of saunas and whirlpools, then out to the breathtaking mineral pool in an enclosed glass dome. When you are inside that glass dome, it's as if you are surrounded by the mountains, they are so close, you feel like you could reach and and touch them. All around the mineral pool are separate hot springs waterfalls to sit under. I really cannot do this scene any justice with my words. When we go to the Banff Springs, we literally spend all day at the spa. When you're not in the water, everyone walks around in huge, fluffy white Fairmont robes and slippers. My husband and I always retire to what's referred to as the "Co-ed Lounge". We sit in plus armchairs with our feet propped up on the ottomans. There are soft blankets to cover up with. You simply push a button and order food to be (quietly) delivered to the room. We sit overlooking a wall of glass. There between two mountains a crystal blue river runs through the center. You are so close you feel like you're sitting right in the midst of nature. Although we have thoroughly enjoyed every trip to the Banff Springs, our honeymoon had a special kind of enjoyment. When you're on your honeymoon, no one expects to talk to you or get in contact with you. The whole week we were away, I didn't even have my phone turned on. There were no text message alerts, no missed calls, no emails, no child at home missing us-- just a week of pure relaxation and enjoyment. We had spent one of the first days of our honeymoon at the spa and when we were deciding how we wanted to spend our last, full day in Banff-- we both agreed, the whole day at the spa was the answer. After hours of floating in the mineral pool, sitting under the waterfalls and enjoying the amazing amenities, we were resting in the Co-ed lounge in our robes and slippers. I was covered up in my blanket, gazing out at the mountains. I was feeling so inspired by God's beauty and majesty, I was reading through the Psalms, paying close attention to the passages that compared Him to the mighty mountains and creation. After a time, I just laid my head back, closed my eyes and I remember feeling SO rested. I remember thinking to myself, "There is literally, absolutely nothing for me to do, but to sit here are rest. No one is trying to get in touch with me, there's no housework, no boxes for me to unpack, there is nothing for me to do." It was a deep, deep sense of peace and rest. As I was meditating on that reality, the Lord spoke quietly to my heart and said, "This is how you should feel in your relationship with Me all the time. There is nothing left for you to do." My friends, how different our lives would be if we could live in this reality without interruption. To live in a state of constant knowing that He has done it all and our only job is to believe in Him, rest in Him and allow Him to flow in and through us. This is the kind of rest that will allow you to walk out the victory for whatever situation you are facing. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which HE prepared in advance that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) Simply believe, have a good opinion of The Lord and REST in what He's already done for you.