August 13th, 2024
One of my favorite quotes is found in the Confessions of Saint Augustine, and I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before. He said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
Apart from the Word of God, I don’t think a quote could so succinctly describe the human condition. Every human being was made for God Himself and will yearn, seek, strive, and toil until they finally rest in His hand.
Hebrews 4:1-3 (AMP) speaks to this reality saying,
“Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest remains and is freely offered today, let us fear, in case any one of you may seem to come short of reaching it or think he has come too late. For indeed we have had the good news [of salvation] preached to us, just as the Israelites also [when the good news of the promised land came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not united with faith [in God] by those who heard. For we who believe [that is, we who personally trust and confidently rely on God] enter that rest [so we have His inner peace now because we are confident in our salvation, and assured of His power], just as He has said,
“As I swore [an oath] in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest,” [this He said] although His works were completed from the foundation of the world [waiting for all who would believe]."
Read that slowly and carefully, like you’re taking a bite of your favorite meal. We see in this scripture the connection between salvation and rest. The writer of Hebrews is speaking of the Israelites in the wilderness who, though they were delivered by God, failed to enter spiritual rest and salvation because of unbelief.
The good news failed to benefit them, not because it hadn’t been provided, but because they were not united with faith.
Belief, which precedes salvation, allows us to enter His rest. I love the addition of the amplified Bible which says, “we have inner peace because we are confident in our salvation and assured of His power.”
Rest comes through receiving the good news by faith and living in assurance of His salvation. Peace comes from walking in confidence, not in our ability, but in His power.
Isaiah 63:14 says of the Israelites in the wilderness:
“Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest.”
The Spirit of the Jehovah gave the people rest, and there is no rest apart from Him to this day.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30,
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Jesus came to deliver every captive soul who will choose to come under His yoke. It’s submission to His authority that truly sets us free. Galatians 5:1 says,
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
2 Peter 2:19 says,
“For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.”
If you aren’t overcome by the presence of your Creator, you will be overcome by something else and you’re a slave to that which overcomes you. As you go about your daily life, you may not realize you’re surrounded by slaves. You may not physically see the heavy chains, gaunt faces, or haggard eyes, but spiritually there are slaves all around us. If you listen with spiritual ears, you will hear the desperate cries for freedom.
My friends, the enemy of our souls is a cruel taskmaster, using fear, darkness, loneliness, depression, and hopelessness to enslave anyone he can.
But Jesus died so you never have to be enslaved again.
Repentance and submission to Jesus set our souls free and on fire. Just as Adam and Eve walked in the garden of Eden with God, we were created to live in perfect unity with Him. Our souls will ache, burn, and long for home until we find our place in Him.
This truth has been ringing so strongly in my heart this week. Every human being you pass on the street is longing for a taste of home. They’re longing for a reality they may never have experienced. That reality is dwelling on the inside of you as a child of God. He doesn’t dwell in temples made by human hands. By the blood of Jesus Christ, He has taken up residence in His children. There is so much more! Until our shadows heal the sick, there is more. Until we see His Kingdom coming in glory in every area of our lives, there is more.
In Acts 17, we read part of the sermon that Paul preached in the city of Athens. Ancient Athens was the epicenter of thought and philosophy. We know from history that they lived in moral depravity while intellectual ideologies and cultural studies flourished. How do you address a people that believe they can think whatever they want? There’s only one way and it’s to speak to their hearts and not their heads. Acts 3:23-25;28 records the words of Paul saying,
“For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything… Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’;”
The answer to the intellectual mind is a heart that realizes its emptiness.
In Him alone can we live and find rest, and He is not far from anyone. He is but a breath away from the one who seems the furthest from Him. Every human being is a moment away from entering the rest for which they long. The answer to the restless heart is this, and this alone. In Him, we live and move and have our being. In Him, we are home. As Augustine said,
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
Apart from the Word of God, I don’t think a quote could so succinctly describe the human condition. Every human being was made for God Himself and will yearn, seek, strive, and toil until they finally rest in His hand.
Hebrews 4:1-3 (AMP) speaks to this reality saying,
“Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest remains and is freely offered today, let us fear, in case any one of you may seem to come short of reaching it or think he has come too late. For indeed we have had the good news [of salvation] preached to us, just as the Israelites also [when the good news of the promised land came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not united with faith [in God] by those who heard. For we who believe [that is, we who personally trust and confidently rely on God] enter that rest [so we have His inner peace now because we are confident in our salvation, and assured of His power], just as He has said,
“As I swore [an oath] in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest,” [this He said] although His works were completed from the foundation of the world [waiting for all who would believe]."
Read that slowly and carefully, like you’re taking a bite of your favorite meal. We see in this scripture the connection between salvation and rest. The writer of Hebrews is speaking of the Israelites in the wilderness who, though they were delivered by God, failed to enter spiritual rest and salvation because of unbelief.
The good news failed to benefit them, not because it hadn’t been provided, but because they were not united with faith.
Belief, which precedes salvation, allows us to enter His rest. I love the addition of the amplified Bible which says, “we have inner peace because we are confident in our salvation and assured of His power.”
Rest comes through receiving the good news by faith and living in assurance of His salvation. Peace comes from walking in confidence, not in our ability, but in His power.
Isaiah 63:14 says of the Israelites in the wilderness:
“Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest.”
The Spirit of the Jehovah gave the people rest, and there is no rest apart from Him to this day.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30,
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Jesus came to deliver every captive soul who will choose to come under His yoke. It’s submission to His authority that truly sets us free. Galatians 5:1 says,
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
2 Peter 2:19 says,
“For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.”
If you aren’t overcome by the presence of your Creator, you will be overcome by something else and you’re a slave to that which overcomes you. As you go about your daily life, you may not realize you’re surrounded by slaves. You may not physically see the heavy chains, gaunt faces, or haggard eyes, but spiritually there are slaves all around us. If you listen with spiritual ears, you will hear the desperate cries for freedom.
My friends, the enemy of our souls is a cruel taskmaster, using fear, darkness, loneliness, depression, and hopelessness to enslave anyone he can.
But Jesus died so you never have to be enslaved again.
Repentance and submission to Jesus set our souls free and on fire. Just as Adam and Eve walked in the garden of Eden with God, we were created to live in perfect unity with Him. Our souls will ache, burn, and long for home until we find our place in Him.
This truth has been ringing so strongly in my heart this week. Every human being you pass on the street is longing for a taste of home. They’re longing for a reality they may never have experienced. That reality is dwelling on the inside of you as a child of God. He doesn’t dwell in temples made by human hands. By the blood of Jesus Christ, He has taken up residence in His children. There is so much more! Until our shadows heal the sick, there is more. Until we see His Kingdom coming in glory in every area of our lives, there is more.
In Acts 17, we read part of the sermon that Paul preached in the city of Athens. Ancient Athens was the epicenter of thought and philosophy. We know from history that they lived in moral depravity while intellectual ideologies and cultural studies flourished. How do you address a people that believe they can think whatever they want? There’s only one way and it’s to speak to their hearts and not their heads. Acts 3:23-25;28 records the words of Paul saying,
“For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything… Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’;”
The answer to the intellectual mind is a heart that realizes its emptiness.
In Him alone can we live and find rest, and He is not far from anyone. He is but a breath away from the one who seems the furthest from Him. Every human being is a moment away from entering the rest for which they long. The answer to the restless heart is this, and this alone. In Him, we live and move and have our being. In Him, we are home. As Augustine said,
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
No Comments