A Different Kind of Rest
If You Hear His Voice, Do Not Harden Your Heart
“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest.” (Hebrews 4:1-3)
Generation on fire, I greet you in the name of Christ the one who carries our burdens and gives us rest.
Recently, I came across a Gallup poll reporting on American adult sleeping patterns, and the statistics are rather astonishing. In 1942, 59% were getting eight-plus hours of sleep, while only 3% reported getting five hours or less. By 1990, the percentage reporting eight or more hours had fallen to 27%, while the proportion getting five or less was up to 14%. Today, a quarter are still getting eight-plus hours, but the percentage getting five or less has risen to 20%. Simultaneously, the religious landscape in the United States shows rapidly declining faith amongst all Christian sects while reporting an upswell in “nothing in particular” religion, agnostic or atheist. If I were a betting man, I would wager a correlation and causation relationship of sorts with these observations. In Matthew 11:28, Christ says, “Come to me, all who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Alas, I am not a betting man but a believer in the supremacy of God’s word. The rest that Christ promised is eternal, but it also encompasses physical rest. On earth, as it is in heaven, it means just that – the downpayment on eternal rest begins here on earth. Today, God’s children who were promised rest are the furthest from it; in reality, this is a restless generation spiritually, physically, and otherwise. Something has to change.
The crux of the word today is “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” If you’ve read up until this point, you’ll be correct to deduce that this is not about a good night sleep; it is about the redeeming power of faith and the tools that God has given us to wield this faith. “For we who have believed do enter that rest,” says it all; it is the full stop and period of the bible. The writer of Hebrews contrasts “we who have believed” to the wilderness generation who failed to believe. “So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways. So, I declared on oath in my anger, they shall never enter my rest.” (Hebrews 3:7-11)
For our benefit, Hebrews 3 summarizes the cautionary tale of the fallen wilderness generation. The reasons why they never made it to the land flowing with milk and honey were because they “heard and yet rebelled,” they “sinned,” they “were disobedient,” and they exhibited “unbelief.” This backdrop parallels our journey. We are constantly at risk of being them who heard the gospel, but it did not profit them. This wilderness generation saw the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea; they heard thunder and rumblings on Mt. Sinia and ate the manna from heaven. They saw the pillar of cloud and fire daily, yet faithlessness prevailed, so they could not enter the promised land. Paul highlights the contemporary version of the wilderness generation as those who “God has given up to the vileness of their hearts” (Romans 1:24). These are those consigned to unbelief. The bible tells us how this story ends. Hebrews 1:1-2 defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.” The elders refer to the likes of Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Moses. Interestingly, most of these elders had no bible and little insight into who God is, yet they displayed unrivaled faith. In reality, through God’s word, His works, and Christ’s time with us on earth, the things hoped for have been substantiated, and the evidence has been laid bare before us. No other generation has had the privilege of knowing the deep mysteries of God and His plans from beginning to end. The bar for faithfulness has never been lower since the beginning of time, but it still seems too high for too many of us.
All of John’s apocalyptic writing in the book of Revelations is a beautiful promise; it is God’s rest and the place and time that God has promised our generation. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem (the redeemed children of God), coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelations 21:1-4). Reading further in this chapter, we learn that this place of rest “has no temple because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.” Has there ever been a greater promise made? I think not!
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 3:8) is a call to active faith and the only condition for entering God’s rest. Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God (Hebrews 3:12). For us believers, the issue of hardened hearts is typically inconspicuous and goes undetected. We must lean of the word of God to expose unbelief and uncover hardening wherever it is occurring in our lives. “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Hebrew 4:12).
Prayer
Heavenly Father,
I come before You with a humble heart, acknowledging Your Word is alive and powerful. Your word, like a sharp two-edged sword, pierces deep into my soul, discerning the very intentions of my heart. I ask You now, Lord, to search me with the truth of Your word and reveal any areas where unbelief may have taken root.
Expose the places within me that I may have allowed doubt, fear, or skepticism to grow. Illuminate those hidden thoughts and desires that keep me from fully trusting in Your promises. Lord, I trust that Your Word will not return void but will accomplish Your purposes in us. May I be open to the transforming power of Your word and grow in faith, knowing that You are faithful to complete the work You have begun in me.
In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.