Words by Charles Wesley/Music by Craig Smith
Matthew 11:28-30
Lord I believe in a rest that remains
To all Thy people known
A rest where pure enjoyment reigns
And Thou art loved alone
A rest where all our souls desire
Is fixed on the things above
Where doubt and pain and fear expire
Cast out by perfect love
Remove this hardness from my heart
This unbelief remove
To me the rest of faith impart
The sabbath of Thy love
Safe in the way of life above
Death, earth and hell we rise
We find when perfected, perfected by love
Our long sought paradise
Come O my Saviour come away
Into my soul descend
No longer from Thy creature stay
My author and my end
Come Father, Son and Holy Ghost
And seal we Thine abode
Let all that I am in Thee be lost
Let all be lost in my God
"And by the seventh day, God completed His work which He had done and He
rested..." Genesis 2:2
"There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the
one who has entered His rest has himself rested from his works as God
did from His." Hebrews 4:9,10
"Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28
"Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall
through following the same example of disobedience (unbelief)." Hebrews
4:11
God's rest after the creation had nothing to do with tiredness. It had
everything to do with completion. God had an eternity of energy and
power remaining, but He rested because His creation was complete. Have
you ever wondered what God's plan was for the eighth day? It was not
much work; the work was complete. God desired to walk and commune with
His creation in His completed world that they might continue in His rest
together.
Man interrupted that rest through disobedience and unbelief. We, in our
natural state, have chosen our way rather than God's. We somehow have
been deceived to believe that enough award of achievement, enough
satisfaction of desire, and enough accumulation of possessions will
allow us to reach a point of comfort in relaxation and rest. But, there
is always more to accomplish, more to experience, and more to possess.
That is why we can find ourselves successful, yet unsatisfied,
unfulfilled, and weary.
It is then that the Savior gently invites us to come to Him, walk with
Him, learn from Him, and share in His rest. To yoke ourselves with Jesus
Christ, we must lay down our burdens, surrender our motives, and
relinquish our methods. "Not my will, Lord, but Thine!" You must settle
that issue deep in your heart; once and for all. Then your rest will
begin. It will increase as you walk with Him, learn from Him, and apply
your faith.
To refuse to settle this is unbelief--the disobedience that rules out
rest. To lay aside the self-preferences of pride, lust, and
covetousness, and then trust in the promises of God will surely yield
rest. God's plan has never changed; He has made provision through His
Son for your completion, and with completion there is a rest that
remains.--Steve Swift
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