Hebrews 4:1-11

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. ²For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed. ³ Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. ⁴For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.” ⁵And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.” ⁶Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, ⁷God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” ⁸For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. ⁹There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; ¹⁰for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. ¹¹Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

 Experiencing Christ in the Emptiness of Rest

 In November 2023, I had a realization. I was depressed, and I had been for years. I hated the darkness and I hated how it limited me. It had been so long that I didn't know who I was without it. I felt so far from who I wanted to be, what I wanted to accomplish. “How, Lord, do I become free? How do I do more so I am enough?”

“Enter my rest, he said, and empty yourself of all you are, all you want to achieve. Trust and have faith that I will use the empty spaces to build you back up into who and what you want to be. Expose the pain in my presence and I will heal. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord (Exodus 14:13).”

 I obeyed. I pared down my life to the bare essentials. Pure survival mode. University, work, and feeding myself were my only obligations. Everything else fell away. I spent my spare time reading the Bible, crying and watching Netflix. Resting.

By resting I deprived myself of my own strength, and the darkness deepened. But soon I started to experience his strength, and with his strength began the most intense season of healing of my life. By resting I emptied myself of all I was and in that space he began building new passions and ambitions. Now I have reassurance in knowing that the person I am becoming comes only from Christ.

Living by our own strength deprives us of his voice, his plans, and of Christ's power. Living in his rest allows us to experience his healing, his restoration and his sanctification. By his righteousness we have been saved.

Prayer: Thank you, LORD, for the pain, for pain that makes us so weak that we have no choice but to rest in your strength. What a gift to be able to simply be still and experience the remarkable salvation of the Lord.