Editor’s Note: This is the third article in a series on rest for our souls. Click here to read the first article, “Jesus Offers a Greater Rest,” and here to read the second article, “Five Obstacles to Christ’s Rest.” Also, Bruce Zachary will lead a workshop on Intentional Relational Leadership at the CGN International Conference on June 23-26 in Costa Mesa, California.
Life in this world can be very discouraging, but today we find a hope that will be sure, steadfast, and provide encouragement and comfort for your soul! Your greatest need is rest for your soul. The night that I received Jesus, I experienced rest for my soul for the first time. Being reconciled to God, and receiving spiritual life, produced an awareness of wholeness, indescribable peace, and contentment.
The essence of a person is their soul. In effect, you are a soul with a body, rather than a body with a soul. We may be keenly aware of when our bodies are exhausted, our emotions are frayed, or our minds are spinning and we can’t continue with the weight. Nevertheless, most of us don’t tend to contemplate that the primary issue may be a restless soul. We are a restless people, with restless souls.
In two earlier articles, I sought to demonstrate why Christ’s rest (rest for our souls) is greater than any other rest that can be imagined — and some of the obstacles to experiencing Christ’s rest. Here, I hope to reveal how you can experience Christ’s rest. Again, we revisit Hebrews 3 to glean lessons from a familiar friend.
1. Hear His Voice (7, 15)
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice …” (Ps. 95:7-11). Twice, we see this phrase repeated (7, 15). It’s a quote from the 95th Psalm, written about 1,000 years before Hebrews. So, just as Jewish Christians in the first century were being urged to hear His voice, Christians in the twenty-first century are being urged by the Holy Spirit to hear His voice. Jesus’ sheep hear His voice, He knows them, and they follow Him (Jn. 10:27).
Many of us have little margin for reflection and contemplation, personal Bible learning, and prayer. We tend to be uncomfortable with quiet. We are busy consuming content and perhaps creating it, but we aren’t very good at being still and knowing that He is God, and knowing God.
2. Examine Your Heart Today (7, 13, 15)
Three times in this passage, we see “Today.” So often, we approach life with the attitude of, “one day” (e.g., One day I’m going to get healthy. One day I’m going to start going to the gym. One day I’m going to stop “X.” One day I’m going to start “Y.”) Your greatest desire is to be whole (i.e., complete, content, shalom). When your heart is tender to God, and when your heart is characterized by gratitude, devotion, and love for Jesus more than anyone or anything, you’ll discover what you’re looking for — a soul at rest with your Creator.
So, take a moment to pause, slow down, and do a simple heart exam. On the one hand, consider five objects of your affection besides Jesus. One finger at a time, name them. Consider parents, spouse, children, friends, school, career, calling, recreation, pleasure, wealth … Then ask yourself, “Do people who know me well think that I love Jesus more than these?”
3. Trust Jesus (Believe) (12, 19)
In contrast to the problem of an unbelieving heart, the remedy is believing or trusting Jesus. Faith is hearing God speak and responding with attitudes of obedience and actions of dependence upon Him. Understand that God is sovereign and has everything under control as proven by fulfilled prophecy. Know that God is good, as proven by Jesus going to the cross and giving His life, just as the prophets foretold. He was resurrected on the third day, just as foretold, and chose to trust Him even when circumstances were difficult or confusing.
Christ’s rest for your soul is directly proportion to your level of trust. As you grow in your knowledge of Jesus and your experience with Him increases, so will rest for your soul. The night I received Jesus, I experienced rest for my soul for the first time. Being reconciled to God, and receiving spiritual life, produced an awareness of wholeness, indescribable peace, and contentment. It was a foretaste, but it would be years before I’d experience rest for my soul as a general condition.
4. Know His Ways (10) and Know Him (Matt. 11:28-30)
An indictment against those who didn’t enter God’s rest was that they always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways (10). The remedy prescribed by Jesus is to yield to Him, learn of Him, and learn from Him, and you’ll find rest for your soul. The Sabbath isn’t only to cease from the burden of work but to create rhythms for communion with God, contemplation of Him, recalibration of perspective, and worship. We need these rhythms for rest.
The hope of life with God in this life and the life to come is available for us to lay hold of. This hope we have as an anchor for the soul (Heb. 6:18-19). This hope is sure and steadfast and a refuge for the soul. As you grow in Christ that hope and rest for the soul becomes a greater reality. This is the beauty of a mature follower of Jesus!
5. Exhort One Another Daily (13)
Exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Here, the emphasis relates to the believers’ relationship with other believers or a community of faith. The Christian life is experienced in communion with God and community with others. The community encourages, edifies, and urges one another to grow in Christ. Those without meaningful community often feel stuck in the wilderness: they are no longer in Egypt, but they haven’t entered the Promised Land and experienced Christ’s rest for their soul as their condition. Today, Jesus invites you to cross the Jordan River, trust Him, and enter His rest.
We need one another because life in this world can be very discouraging. I feel pretty confident in saying that each of us will think of someone, as God’s Spirit guides us, who needs to be encouraged with the truth that there’s rest available for their soul. And I can’t speak for y’all, but I know that I need people in my life to encourage me about this hope.
So, today we find a hope that will be sure, steadfast, and provide encouragement and comfort for your soul! Your greatest need is rest for your soul. So, let’s experience Christ’s rest.
