‘So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. ‘ Joshua 21:43-44 (NLT)
‘for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today! The Lord says, “Don’t harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. For there your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw everything I did. For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”’ Psalms 95:7-11 (NLT)
‘So now God will have to speak to his people through foreign oppressors who speak a strange language! God has told his people, “Here is a place of rest; let the weary rest here. This is a place of quiet rest.” But they would not listen. So the Lord will spell out his message for them again, one line at a time, one line at a time, a little here, and a little there, so that they will stumble and fall. They will be injured, trapped, and captured.’ Isaiah 28:11-13 (NLT)
‘That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years. So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’” Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.” And who was it who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice? Wasn’t it the people Moses led out of Egypt? And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness? And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest? Wasn’t it the people who disobeyed him? So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.’ Hebrews 3:7-19 (NLT)
‘Like our ancestors, we have sinned. We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly!’ Psalms 106:6 (NLT)
Last summer, my husband took a job in another city for a year. This left me at home with eight kids and more responsibilities than I could handle. You might say, I had too many penguins on the iceberg.
My solution was to spend less time on me. Sleep less. Eat less. Do less of what I needed to give more and be stronger for them. As you can imagine, it was only a matter of time before penguins began flinging off my iceberg.
Not surprisingly, there was a price for neglecting myself.
Neither is it startling to learn Scripture warns us there is a price for NOT resting.
Consider God’s dealings with the Israelites as they settled into the Promised Land. In Joshua 21:43-44 we find God’s people entering His rest, experiencing all God promised them. Later the Psalmist encourages the people of his day to learn from those who were not able to enter because of their unbelief (Psalm 95:7-11) and to choose differently. Isaiah does something similar in his day (Isaiah 28:11-13).
What does all of this have to do with you and me today?
Hebrews clears the fog by explaining that the promise of entering His rest still stands today. Therefore, the risk of NOT entering it also remains. There can be an UNBELIEVING HEART within a Believer that refuses to cleave to, trust in and rely on God.
Can you see how this could be a present reality? We believe God for our purposes in life. But the road to our particular Promised Land is wrought with impossibilities, hardships, difficult people and dysfunctional relationships. It’s easy to lose your footing in the midst of all this malarkey. Who wouldn’t be tempted NOT to cleave, trust in, or rest upon a God who makes promises blurred by all this haze?
Oh—but there is a price for NOT Resting. There are consequences for refusing to believe the God who gives rest to our souls! Constant turmoil. Defeat. Anxiety and worry.
Can we agree that this price is too great?
If this refusal remotely defines the state of your heart, then take the advice found in Psalms 106:6. Ask for forgiveness. Unbelief for the Believer is a sin. NOT resting as a Believer—not cleaving to, relying on, or trusting in Him—is sin.
Ask, and you will be forgiven.
His rest is too good to miss!
from Resting Well by Cheri Strange