“Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; he flees like a shadow and does not continue.” Job 14:1-2 reminds us life is hard and short. This is not “news” to any of us! We are all aware of the challenges of life that we each face everyday. The obstacles we deal with range from physical, emotional, relational, financial and so many more. In sum, the pain we see, feel, and anticipate is extremely hard. The older we get the more we realize this. Daily battles make us tired, weary, weak (vulnerable), and irritable. Sometimes we may struggle to have a “good attitude” or demonstrate a “friendly disposition.” We might could say, “Life turned me this way.”
The good news is found in Matthew 11:28. Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” This is not just a mere invitation to believe a few facts about our Savior. This statement has a much wider application for ALL of us! Jesus provides rest for our souls! Responding to Christ allows us to seek forgiveness for our sins, sharpen our focus on eternity, and distance ourselves from the ugliness of the world.
We all can agree on this, we ALL get tired! God has promised us rest (Hebrews 4:1-16). The rest that is promised is one that we do not want to miss. Wayne Jackson says this about the promised rest, “One must have a reverential ‘fear’ of not receiving God’s ‘promise’ of rest (Non-rest is too horrible to contemplate!).” We all want to experience this type of rest eternally one day but we cannot be rebellious. Israel missed out because they were stubbornly rebellious (Hebrews 4:4-6). Hebrews 4 teaches us we all must submit our lives to Him to know the true rest that is promised. We are also taught “unfaithfulness never remains undetected.” Today, let us seek the true rest that awaits through our submission to Christ.
