Enter in...TODAY

Can I just encourage you today? Can I just remind you that God is faithful and present and desires that you be whole and free, living in victory? This has been quite a week in the world. There has been death and destruction, struggle and triumph. There has been weariness and there has been restoration. When you put that altogether, you will discover that there has been life. You see life happens to everyone. It doesn’t matter how holy or deep you are, how famous or smart, life can come out of nowhere and take you where you didn’t expect to go. But God told me to tell you today to enter into His presence and find your rest, find your restoration, and find your worship.

This morning as I was running and listening to the book of Hebrews, something jumped out at me in chapter 4 that I had not ever highlighted before. The word TODAY. It literally got louder in my ears when I heard this word. You see, the chapter talks about the rest that God has promised His people. The author talks about how this rest has been prepared for us since God created the world. But as I kept listening, I heard verses 6 and 7 and went in! “So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering His rest, and that time is TODAY. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts.” (Heb. 4:6-7, NLT) WOW! Do you see what I see? God has been reaching out to His people offering this rest for ages and ages and has been disobeyed and basically ignored. But TODAY, He wants you to enter into His rest. TODAY!

You have been searching for peace, for answers, for breakthrough, for joy, for understanding, for so long that it has worn you out. It has literally caused you to change the way you operate. It’s caused you to act out of character at times. It has even caused you to not enjoy life the way you should at times. But TODAY, God is calling you home. He’s calling you to Himself and offering rest from your search. He’s offering you all that He has.  Today is the day to press go on your life. Today is the day to leave your anger and bitterness behind. Today is the day to tell sadness and depression that it can’t have your best days. Today is the day that you trust again. Today is the day that you rest in His presence. You see, all throughout the Word, you will see that all that you need is there. His presence will go with you and He will give you rest. (Ex. 33:14) Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Cor. 3:17) In His presence, there is fullness of joy. (Ps. 16:11) Times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord. In Him you have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of your trespasses. (Acts 3:20) Do you see what is waiting for you?

I can testify how hard life can be when you get outside of that rest, especially in your heart. That’s why David said to make sure your heart was not hard when you hear His voice. For me, I’ve had to come to the place where I see rest as real and all encompassing. I have to have the word rest taped on a piece of paper above my desk, literally staring at me all day. Why? Because I don’t want to get too far away from it. I want to be reminded constantly that if I rest in who God is that I can stand, I can survive, and I can press on. Today is your day to make that same declaration. Today, I challenge you to make resting in God your goal. I challenge you to enter in to His rest. Stop working so hard at life. Stop working so hard to make things work the way you want them to. Stop saying you trust Him but your actions show differently. Today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your heart. Enter in and rest.

Amen