Called to Contentment
Observing Sabbath-rest allows us to step into the same rhythm God established in creating the world. Scripture tells us when God rested from His work, it was because His work was complete (Genesis 2:1). God took joy in His accomplishment.
In Hebrews 4:10, the writer draws a parallel between God's rest and ours: "for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his." We're invited to delight in His presence and share in God’s divine contentment.
This rest isn't about taking a break from good works. It’s about surrendering the need to control by trusting in the completeness of God’s work. Our "rest" releases us from the burden of proving ourselves good enough to earn His love and approval. These things have been secured through Jesus’ finished work on the cross. When we step into this rhythm of rest can we find contentment that spills over into every part of our lives.
Is God is calling you to stop trying to do everything on your own and instead find peace in Jesus’ finished work on the cross?
Lay down your burdens, not out of laziness, but surrender. Believe that the One who made the world also takes care of you.
I just started to read “Why Grace Changes Everything” by Chuck Smith. The introduction by Raul Ries has brought back my journey to accepting Christ.
I was a preteen, I remember wanting to read “Joni” by Joni Erickson (now Tada) and the “Cross and the Switchblade” by David Wilkerson. This sparked something in me but I wasn’t sure. Then I became friends with teen a little older than me who introduced me to the Bible. But it would be years later that I made my impassioned plead to the Lord only to backslide a few years later. Then another friend took me to Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia and it was there that I rededicated my life to the Lord. And is there that the Lord has been dealing with my sin through grace until this day. I am a work in progress because I have things that come to light from my past that may hold me from things the Lord has for me.
I am looking forward to reading this book just by reading a short part of the introduction. It may inspire me to write about my own ...