If you have already read part one of “Finding Your Place in This World,” https://releasedtofly.com/finding-your-place-in-this-world-the-rest-of-the-story-part-1/ then you’ve got the first part of the story: this present life we live is really such a mystery. And if we’re able to discover what life isn’t, then we are much more able to understand what it really is.
The world’s ever-changing point of view requires people to come up with all sorts of interesting (and scientific-sounding) explanations for the life we all currently experience.
But no one agrees why billions of us live on this tiny blue speck, which is flying around out in the middle of nowhere, within the endless cosmos. Let that sink in for a minute.
Yow! That could be really unsettling, if we didn’t have God’s word, the Bible, to understand some very important facts. But we do.
And the Bible does give us the perspective we need, to help us feel grounded.
Why doesn’t everyone have this perspective?
“Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not” (Jeremiah 5:21)
Thankfully, our eyes and ears have been opened—by the saving grace of God. We can believe what God shows us. We can believe what God says to us.
We can believe the Bible, and we can believe in God, who wrote it. But it’s not that we don’t have our struggles.
Faith is a fight, and our day to day lives is the battlefield.
The questions arise in our minds: Am I really able to trust God completely? Can He really be in complete control—in every situation of my life?
Is there truly nothing that is beyond His reach? Is there anything too far away—or too lost, or too messed up, or too broken—for Him to reach out to, and save?
With all of these questions in our minds, it’s hard to comprehend this “rest” God wants us to have.
Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
So it is a fact—God wants us to rest. But only in Jesus.
God doesn’t want us to trust in some man-made or man-centered assurances that all is well.
Because all is not well.
Nothing is ever well—unless God says it is well. Until God says it is good, or acceptable, or forgiven—everything is wrong.
And, if it was purposed to be wrong—in opposition to what God’s word states—then it is a lie.
To trust in anything but God is to worship an idol.
Idols can be made of wood, stone, or shiny metal. But an idol can also be made of ideas—anything that holds a fake importance in our lives, and steals significance from the supreme importance of Almighty God.
It’s no wonder that God describes Himself as jealous.
A husband or wife can be jealous for their mate, or their marriage. But God is even more jealous.
He’s jealous over his entire family, and watches over us—each and every one of us—day and night. He never stops. He never sleeps.
This may look like manipulation, or an untrusting eye. It’s not. It’s love.
In this fallen, restless world, people are always searching for the next big thing to replace belief in God. But believers know that the only source of true rest is God Himself.
Believers know this—but we don’t always live our lives as though we truly believe it.
Jesus states in Matthew 11:29-30,
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
All who are weary of carrying the burdens of life by themselves, can find rest by coming to Jesus Christ. If you give your burdens to Him, He will carry them.
Trained oxen who are yoked together share the weight of their burden. It becomes a sharing of the burden, when we are equally yoked with Christ. It makes for a much lighter load.
Being yoked with Christ, you surrender the burden of your life and worries to Him. Surrender—to His will. To His purposes. Choosing to trust Him, and believe Him, fully.
This is rest.
In the book of Hebrews, Paul gives an account of the rebellion of the young nation of Israel, as Moses led them through the wilderness, to the promised land. Through His servant, Moses, God instructs His people to go into the land and possess it.
It had been promised to them, this land—to be a dwelling place for God’s people, forever. But their rebellion—the ultimate decision not to possess their promised inheritance—was a rebellion of unbelief.
What was God’s response to this? The scripture states that God swore in His wrath, that they would not enter His rest.
The promised land is God’s land as well—and it is a land of rest.
In this passage of scripture, Paul continues on—departing from the Israelites’ grave error of disobedience, and focusing on someone else—us. Paul explains that the time of rest is for us—today—through Christ.
He repeats a warning, “Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Today—what will you do with this day—this new opportunity before you?
Your answer to this question is critical to finding your rest and shelter—in a restless and unsheltered world.
The warning from Paul comes loud and clear: Today, if you will hear God’s voice, do not harden your heart as they did—in their rebellion of unbelief.
“Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Hebrews 4:11)
Each day—today—you have the opportunity to believe and watch God move you a little further.
Into your land of promise. Your place of rest—in Him.
Rest. Not just some ceasing from labor, or even freedom from worry. It is much more.
Rest is a position of strength—even authority, in God. It means to be about our Father’s business.
The young nation of Israel, under the leadership of Moses, had just come out of Egypt. They had been there all of their lives, and had known nothing but slavery.
That is what the world does to each one of us. It makes us slaves of Sin.
The world can be like a prison—a prison of our past mistakes, sins and failures.
You might feel trapped by past decisions—decisions made out of your own soul, without the wise counsel of God. They could hold disastrous consequences for years to follow.
God doesn’t want you living there, within a cage of past mistakes and failures.
But our enemy does.
Our enemy hopes to keep us held captive in prisons of the past. Prisons of pain and regret. Prisons of past ignorance, and past thinking. Past decisions made out of unbelief and disobedience.
Our past is the last place we should be living.
But what about today—your new day—your new way of looking at your new life in God?
God tells us up front: I am God. I do not change. (It’s a good thing He doesn’t change, or we would be in big trouble!)
Instead, you have the wonderful opportunity—with each new day—to change the course of your life. To create a new future in God.
He creates us to be new—and He makes all things new—with a new reality of life.
Each day you have is never yours alone. Each day brings moments of opportunity to share with others along your road of life. It may involve others miles away, or the neighbors right next door.
These moments aren’t just coincidences—not for those of us who know and trust God. These are divine encounters—divine inroads into the lives of others.
Remember, your promised land of rest is God’s land as well. He gives it to us, as we learn to believe Him for it.
Our situations in life are also His situations. So, by extension, the situations of others become ours and God’s—as we obediently respond to each divine encounter. We become the connection between God and others—to pray, to believe, and to act on their behalf.
God loves to work in lives this way.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
His purpose. If we truly are His hands and feet, we have become God’s instruments of change in this world.
In these troubled times—more now than ever before—we know that we must become “resters” in God.
Because the “rest” God provides stems from our faith—our confidence in Him and, ultimately, our obedience to Him.
Because we know Him, we are no longer troubled or perplexed, as if we follow a stranger.
We know God well, and with each step of faith—each stepping stone of obedience—we step further into our promised land of rest.
We know Him as our Provider, in times of need—as our Helper, in times of inadequacy—and as our Defender, in times of trouble.
We know him more and more—through each personal experience, and with each testimony of His living and active Word.
The more we learn to give Him control of each circumstance, His truth becomes true. For every situation.
His rest becomes reality.
You may not understand your current situation—but He does. You may not have all of the answers—but He does. You may not have the means to provide for the needs in your situation—but He certainly does.
Can you really find a resting place, within this restless world? You can, and you will—if you understand where true rest really comes from.
The Prince of Peace.
Practice giving God your weaknesses. He will show Himself strong.
And you will learn to rest right there, within the power of His might.
We are delighted that you are learning, right along with us. See you in Part 3!
But before you go, we would love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to comment below!