“Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1
How is it that the Christian is called to run a race, with all that pertains to focus, discipline, effort, work, and warfare, and yet know a life of rest? After all, Scripture does tell us: “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” (Heb. 4:9) We find in the context of this verse that there were some who entered into this “rest,” and those that did not. Why? Again, we come back to consider the reality of this race as being the context in which the believer is to know the rest that God gives. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.” (1 Cor. 9:24) Paul goes on to testify of his personal experience: “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air…” Toward the final days of Paul’s life on this earth, he wrote to Timothy: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course (or race), I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7) That which we discover in the apostle’s writings is that this life of rest is a life of intense energy, focus, discipline, and commitment. Of course, the perfect example of one that ran this race, fought the good fight, and won perfectly, is the Lord Jesus. We find Him deliberately dependent upon His Father at every juncture, and step in His ministry. He is intensely committed to the objective of glorifying His Father by the doing of the Father’s will. And yet, at the same time, He is in perfect peace, there being a joy in his heart that never departs, and a love that envelopes all of His dealings with both those who are his enemies, and His friends. How is it that one can be laboring, fighting, stretching forth to finish one’s course in a manner well-pleasing to God, and yet, know a rest that has been promised to all who would truly follow Christ? The answer lies in faith, and the true definition of “rest.”
From the moment of the Fall of man by the sin of Adam, there was introduced a concept that became the gateway to know God, but in a context of opposition, temptation, and unbelief. That principle was faith, true faith that was the gift of God. It was an attitude of heart that God alone could give, for man, being sinful in and of himself, could never produce it. The good news is that God gives that faith to all that will look to Him and live. What are the great characteristics of this true faith which result in “rest,” or knowing and living in the peace of God?
The first quality of this true faith is that is it a whole-hearted trust in a Person, in the Lord Jesus Christ, and in Him alone. This means that there is a deliberate turning with all the heart from trusting in oneself, or anything else, in order to receive from God, Life, and the blessings of heaven. Christ’s perfect “faith” was manifested in a total, constant surrender of HImself, and all that He was on this earth as a man, to the sovereign power and love of His Father. That faith translated into a life of perfect obedience, even death on a cross. As a result of His perfect reliance upon, and submission to the Father, the Father was free by the Spirit to communicate to the Son His perfect peace. Is this peace also the gift of God to the believer? Isaiah assuredly confirmes this: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.” (Is. 26:3) The peace of God is His rest given to men.
Dear Father, Give us Thy rest. In Jesus’ name, Amen.