Working to Rest
Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Hebrews 4:11 (KJV)
A preacher friend of mine said years ago: “Where you find a paradox, you find God.” Some famous paradoxes are in the words of Jesus- “when you lose your life for My sake then you will find it,” and “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit.”
Jesus was asked by the people “what shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?”
He replied (and I can just see some of them getting their quills ready to write it down in numbered list form) “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” What a letdown for the listmaking human “do-ers!”
Imagine yourself in a canoe floating down a stream that is flowing in the direction you want to go.
All you have to do is sit in the canoe for awhile, admiring the scenery, waving at the fellow boaters, delighting in the sight of a fish leaping gleefully in front of you. You smell the sweetness from the fragrant trees on the shore. Perhaps you are enjoying a cool drink and a bite to eat. The current and the boat cooperate marvelously to facilitate this journey. You are resting, yet still making good progress toward your destination.
How foolish it would be to suddenly grab a paddle and begin to over-exert yourself with stroking, thinking that it takes your effort to complete the journey.
Welcome to the world of the Believer who is (unwittingly) serving God in his (her) own strength.
As author Major Ian Thomas says in his wonderful book, The Saving Life of Christ: “Serving God in our own strength is like someone giving us a fine automobile, and we receive the gift thankfully, then proceed to get behind it and push it where we want to go!. We are sincere, we are going in the right direction, and we are… exhausted!” Why? Because the automobile was never designed to operate properly by being pushed!
And we were not created to live the “Christian life” in our own strength. As the Apostle Paul said: “I live, nevertheless not I, but Christ Who lives in me!”
Many times we grasp in prayer, asking for what we have already received. Sometimes we respond in a knee-jerk way to a need, instead of following the example of Jesus Who only did what He saw the Father doing. Even Christ did not minister out of His own strength!
Often I find myself striving, living in my own power. What is the answer? To put the paddle down, reach for a drink of Living Water and by faith appropriate- “put on” the Life of Christ. He is our Life! He is our Strength. Christ in us is the hope of glory!
Godrest and Godspeed!
David Baroni
April 8th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Great reminder. Faith and works go together, but so do faith and rest. Even in the Garden of Eden, they worked, but the results were guaranteed. So it is with God! That doesn’t mean that this is easy to remember, mind you.
Thanks for the word of encouragement!