Hebrews 4:7-13
7) “Today, if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts.”
In this day and age it is so easy for us to tune out God’s voice with the distractions earth has so conveniently provided, and this is by no accident, by the most part what God has to say is rarely what we want to hear… we harden our hearts to his truth… which really pushes us father away from his path, and the more we push him away, the less we are willing him to work in us to become the people he has called us to be. There are so many obvious red flags and signs from Him that he provides for us when we ask ( he is not here to set us up for defeat) “we ask and we shall receive”, but it’s our own selfish will that blinds us from the truth. I myself have made that mistake more times than I could count.
8) For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have of another day later on, 9) So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God”
REST!!! This darn word has been thrown in my face countless times in the past year. In the 21st Century it’s so hard to know what rest even means and I have been trying to figure it out for months and today… it hit me, verse 10 says “ For whoever has entered God’s rest also rested from his work as God did from his.” DUUUUDES!! He doesn’t just mean for us to have a lazy Sunday just so that we can reenergize and be ready for the next week, nooo, he is calling us to give him our troubles, anything that worries us, anything that controls us, anything that distracts us, to offer it up to him, then he will take up out burdens and we will have rest. I’m reminded of the story Pilgrims Progress. At one point of the story Christian ( the main character ) is noticing how heavy the burden upon his back had become and he realized that he needed to rid of this burden but could not do so with his own demise, nor the efforts of others, he comes to find out that not only would he have to live the rest of his journey ( his life) with this burden but we will also never know the true feeling of rest until he got rid of it. So what does he do?! He lays his burden upon the cross that’s what! Lay your burdens at his feet and there you shall find rest. So recently I have been going through some changes in my life, and several times I have tried to take matters into my own hands, ‘cause lets be honest… it’s easier that way right?! And I’ve found that I have been doing so out of the fear of being hurt, that if I do not have control then my life can shatter and break. I had made a promise to the Lord that I would give my whole life to him, and that his plan for my life is in his hands. And yet I still have trouble giving him my whole burden… instead I have given him a few things here and there but still have a huge load on my back that I refuse to give over. I have not yet put my burdens at his feet allowing my spirit to experience that feeling of relieve. So my challenge to myself this week and hopefully this will become a habit for the rest of my life… is to rid of the distractions that will hinder me from hearing his voice and that will cause me to lack trust in him. Instead of indulging myself in the world and what it has to offer, I will dwell on his word and linger in his presence and there I will find rest.
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