Get Some Rest

So then, as the Holy Spirit says, 

"If you hear God's voice today, do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were when they rebelled against God, as they were that day in the desert when they put him to the test. There they put me to the test and tried me, says God, although they had seen what I did for forty years. And so I was angry with those people and said, 'They are always disloyal and refuse to obey my commands.'  I was angry and made a solemn promise:  'They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest.!'"

Hebrews 3:7-11

I wrestled with God for a good portion of my night last night and I told Him that I expected answers to my questions by morning.  Although a loud and clear yes or no would be way easier to process, God spoke to me through His Word and taught me something very important.  Through reading the passage above, I am reminded that I have a life on this earth and as a follower of Christ, my life is His.  I have to be completely committed in believing that He is capable of handling my life much better than I am.  There is no room for wavering back and forth like the Israelites did during their escape from Egypt.  Time and again they proclaimed their trust in God only to be found moments later taking back that trust.  This scripture displays God's anger when His people chose to be stubborn and unbelieving.  I recalled my own life and all of the times I have taken back my trust and tried to make decisions based solely on my own knowledge, fears and desires.  At times I am no different than these Israelites and look what happened to them!  They were not allowed to enter His rest because of their unbelief (Hebrews 3:19).  

We all could use rest.  All of us would benefit from some time off from our busy schedules, but even more important is time off from the guesswork of making decisions.  My friends, we can all have time off and get the rest we need if we would put our trust in God.  In every circumstance, big or small, we need to ask God what He wants, hand over our doubts and fears and then seek His Word and trust His answers.  We can't let our fears and desires get in the way.  We can't be like the Israelites who tested God's ability to protect and provide!  Instead, we must listen to God and obey.  Trusting in God takes the weight off of our shoulders.  We don't have to try and fix everything or play out every scenario.  No, we don't even have to know what the future brings.  In fact, our only responsibility is that we must be willing to do everything God asks of us and believe in His plan for our life.  Over the last few years God has shown me that when I trust Him completely I do not tire.  He takes care of every detail and allows me to keep going.  I know that if I put myself in charge I would fall apart!  Unfortunately, sometimes I don't realize that until its too late and I am worn out, but with God in charge I am confident and rested.   Form a relationship with God today and get to know Him.  Believe every word of the bible and trust that God will lead you to a life of rest.