At rest with God

The vacation season is coming to an end. Many have had free time to take a break from work and relax with family or friends. We too have had a wonderful time camping in a tent in France. We met new people, could share our testimonies at a Christian concert in a city park and were able to help people in need. Rested and refueled.

So the time of rest is over again? But that does not have to apply to our spiritual rest. It can continue. What is the secret? Resting in Jesus’ work.
Does that mean you don’t have to do anything anymore? Can you sit back with your arms crossed?
It means trusting fully in Jesus’ work for you. Every single day. For your salvation, forgiveness, healing, etc. Hebrews 4 also describes this: We enter God’s rest when we trust Him. (Hebrews 4:3).
Resting is trusting. It is a wonderful relaxation, a peace that surpasses all understanding. Even when everything around you is shaking or is in chaos. At rest with God. For He is trustworthy and does not fail.

We can add nothing to that work of Jesus. It was complete and perfect. Our struggling, our performance, it compares so pitifully with the complete work of Jesus. And in fact, this is how we besmirch His perfect work. It was apparently not enough, we think. But our “icing” on the cake turns out to be a stain on the wedding dress. We can’t work it out ourselves.
God asks each of us to fully acknowledge Jesus’ work and thereby stop doing our own ‘works’ to obtain or keep these things.
Those who have entered God’s rest have themselves rested from their works. (Hebrews 4:10)

Thus we can begin the day resting and leaning on Jesus His finished work for us. He has obtained God’s approval and blessing for us. We may draw freely from that. Knowing that we are loved, accepted. Not on the basis of our busyness, but on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice.
That is what makes Christianity so different from other religions. Gód did it for us. It is our acceptance of that gift that lets us enter into a trusting relationship with God.

John 15:4
Abide in Me and I in you. Just as the vine cannot bear fruit of itself except it abides in the vine, no other, no more can you except you abide in Me.

Staying connected to Jesus is the ONLY way to bear “fruit” in your daily life, to have the life of Jesus flow out of you, to be a blessing, to be successful, to fulfill God’s purpose and destiny.

Difficult? It is resting in His love for you, His grace, His accomplished work of redemption for you. You don’t have to and can’t do anything to earn God’s approval or blessings. His approval and grace is there. It is constant. You cannot make it more or less, but… you can make it flow more or less. The key: your continued connection to Him.
Is that automatic? Hebrews 4:11 encourages us to strive to enter that rest. So it requires a response on our part. And that is choosing to trust Him and not your own understanding, your own strength and your own ability. And that is a struggle for many of us free-spirited people. Surrendering yourself to the Most High. Choosing to be dependent on Him alone, every day.

Staying connected to Jesus is walking through the day with Him. Involving Him in your life and decisions and following His promptings. Putting your ‘I’ on the sidelines and letting His power and wisdom flow.
And out of your connection and dependence on Him, special things (fruits) will come. This happens automatically just like with a vine. The grapes begin to grow by themselves. There is no need for a vine to struggle for that, only to be connected to the vine. It just arises from the juices that the stem propels.

Living in God’s peace. Anything is possible for those who believe (trust God)!