I have always been intrigued by the biblical concept of rest.

In Hebrews 4:9 we see this written:

9There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest….

Making an effort to enter into rest. The word rest in the Greek means:

1) a putting to rest

a) calming of the winds

2) a resting place

a)
metaph. the heavenly blessedness in which God dwells, and of which he
has promised to make persevering believers in Christ partakers after the toils and trials of life on earth are ended

It is an active word…not a passive word. As if to imply there is an action on our part that brings rest.

In the Kings James version of the Bible the word used instead of “make every effort” is “labour”.

Let us labour to enter into that rest.

The implication also is that by making every effort to enter into that rest, we cease from doing our thing and allow God to do His thing. In other words, you rest, I’ll work.

I read something interesting the other day by Graham Cooke which illustrates this very point. It has been Graham’s goal for several years to find the rest that God has promised. Part of his ministry is and has been to help churches in crisis find their way again.

He relates a story in which a church invited him to come to their place and deal with a number of issues. A week or so before the scheduled meeting, the church leaders sent Graham a 6 page letter outlining their woes. Graham said that he didn’t even read the letter but rather exercised resting in God even though there was much to be done in this situation and other arenas he was involved in.

When the time came to meet with the church leaders, he was rested and was able to exercise wisdom in helping them through their problems. They thought he was very wise and were pleased with his solutions. In actuality, he rested and then allowed God to speak through him and into their mess. God knew what was needed all along.

So, letting go of control, is allowing Him to be in control; which, in effect, is getting the best result for our effort.

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. What about you?