To walk the way of forgiveness you must learn to abide in His rest. "Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (Hebrews 4:11 KJV)
*In order to abide in His rest, you must labor and struggle each day to enter there.
You may be thinking, "I struggle at work, I struggle with being a good spouse and parent, I struggle with being a good neighbor, and now you say I have to struggle to enter His rest?"
*Day in and day out, you must aim to enter into His rest.
When you do step into the rest of His presence, He will pour His peace upon you. All your earthly struggles will seem to slip away. You must find His rest and you have to strive, you have to strain at it. In other words, you have to work up a sweat to get into His presence! It can be the hardest thing you will ever do, yet you must take the time to get there because that is where you need to live.
I have a plan set up to read the Bible through in one year. It takes maybe ten minutes to get through a day’s reading-just ten minutes! And yet I find myself saying, "I don’t have ten minutes. I’m late already, so I gotta get on my way- now!"
*It is when you set your mind on Him that you find your rest.
You have to leave everything behind you and say, "I have to be in your presence, Jesus. I can’t go a day without You in my life. I need You, only You. I realize I can’t do anything on my own, in my own strength."
*It takes labor to enter there.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could close your eyes and just say, "Lord," and-poof!-instantly you could enter into His presence? All the cares of the world would disappear and everything would become wonderful! Then you could go back into the world and everything would be great, and you could walk through life in an eternal state of bliss. The reality is that you have to work at it to make it happen.
"Oh, but I just don’t have enough time," you may say. Listen! If it takes you fifteen minutes to read your Bible as a daily devotional and spend time with the Lord in prayer, then bite the bullet! Get up fifteen minutes early. That’s all it takes. It is an act of your will.
Isn’t it strange how we can talk on the phone for hours with our friends catching up on all the latest gossip? Or spend half a day watching soaps on television but have no time for the Word?
*The only way you can begin living as an "overcomer" is to "live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (Galatians 5:16)
Living by the Spirit is something you must do consciously each day.
For example, when you take a shower, you turn the knob for either hot or cold. You need to adjust each one in order to get the temperature you want. You can have hot, cold, or a combination of both.
*As a Christian, living by the Spirit depends on what spiritual faucet you turn on each day.
Are you going to be a porcupine today-with your quills set to fire-or are you going to walk in the "fruit of the Spirit?" (Galatians 5:22-23) The fact is, that’s under your control. You have the ability to turn it either on or off. You also have the ability to decide whether or not you are going to work at entering into His rest. Remember, you must strive to enter there. The rest of eternal life is not just salvation, but it is the rest of abundant life that you can find only in His presence.
It has probably been years since you were able to curl up in your parent’s lap but think back to when you did. That is a memory worth recapturing! Such confidence, such peace. Or, remember when your kids curled up in yours? They would just rest there, totally content, without a care in the world. That is what entering into His rest involves.
*You just need to learn how to live in Him.
That’s where you will find His rest. That’s where you find His abundant life. But-it’s your choice.
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him." (Colossians 2:6)
Some people live a defeated life; they feel they can never find rest because of what they have done. Listen! Focus upon Jesus, not your failures.
*When you appropriate the truth that you have died in Christ and that you are now dead, you will find your life more abundant. I never met a dead person who had a worry in the world!
If you want the peace of Jesus, then quit conforming to this world, and be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Paul said, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2)
*The renewing of the mind comes little by little-by making it a point to think thoughts that encourage and build up, not dwelling upon sordid, miserable situations.
Philippians 4:8 tells us to think about "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable" and of all things "excellent or praiseworthy."
Then he says in Colossians 3:1-2, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God . . . not on earthly things" that can bring you down and keep you from entering His rest.
The fiercest battles you will ever fight will be fought on the battleground located between your ears!
*The greatest "strongholds" the enemy will ever take are also not from without, but from within our minds.
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world." You can "demolish" these strongholds of "arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, [by taking] captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) By choosing to enter into God’s place of rest, you will have a new and positive attitude.
You are to "put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires," and instead "put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22, 24)
Think about it. The Apostle Paul didn’t wake up one morning and say, "Praise God, I’ve become content while I slept!"
*He learned how to be content by striving for contentment.
He realized he had to do it if he wanted to experience the full, abundant life that Jesus promised. Depending upon Jesus for life means you no longer depend upon yourself.
Paul found that by depending upon Jesus, he could be content in whatever circumstance he found himself. He wrote to the Philippians, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." (4:11-12 emphasis added)
Paul goes on to say in verse 13 that, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Listen! You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength! But you can’t do all things through yourself. Giving up on yourself is the key to a new life!
Jesus will always work out everything "for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)
*Remember, That God works out everything "according to His purpose for you, not your purpose!
When you strive to enter His rest, you are endeavoring to find that special place He has for you. What blessing and freedom and forgiveness and healing!
The next time you go into your prayer closet to be with the Lord, just curl up in Jesus’ lap and let Him caress away those cares and concerns that confront you each day. You will stop worrying about your problems, and you will start becoming more like Him. You will not only be able to learn to forgive others but, more importantly, you will be able to forgive yourself as well.
