Divine Rest

DIVINE REST (Hebrews 4:9-11)

Welcome to the month of August. The theme for this month is DIVINE REST and our anchor scripture is Hebrews 4:9-11, which says “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man falls after the same example of unbelief”.

After experiencing a perfect due season, God’s promise of divine rest could not be accidental. You will experience divine rest in Jesus name. It is an undeniable fact that most people in the world today desire and even actively seek rest. They want rest from financial problems, rest from family issues, rest from troubled career, rest from not-so-good academic performance, rest from troubled spiritual life, rest from bad and poor health, rest from perceived troublesome spouses, parents, children, siblings, friends, bosses as well as rest from all troubles of life. In actual fact, this is not a bad or ungodly desire. However, the irony of the situation lies in the fact that majority of people engage in and seek things that they think could give them the desired rest without realizing that they are just being delusional. You may want to ask yourself how much permanent rest has your good paying job, your wonderful marriage, your great educational qualifications, your high ministerial or pastoral positions in the church, your fat bank account, your massive wealth and your good immigration status given you? The best you get from all these are temporary relief and not permanent rest. It is against this background that our anchor scripture for this month reminds us that permanent rest can only be found in Jesus Christ. Hence the admonition that we work hard to enter into that rest. For it is only in the presence of God that one can have genuine permanent rest hence upon Moses persistency, God assures him “–My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest” (Exodus 33:14). The type of rest our anchor scripture is talking about is not about you praying against storms of life but a life which is dead to and unaffected by the effects of storms of life because the life has entered into rest in Jesus Christ. This is what happened when Jesus Christ felt unperturbed by the great storm of wind while his disciples thought they would perish with the wind (Mark 4:35-41). So divine rest in this scripture does not mean the absence of storm but the peace to feel unperturbed in the face of challenges because of the confidence that God is taking care of it. It is like a fireproof in the midst of fire.

For you to enter into this divine rest, you need to be connected to the almighty God. Also, you need to be established in and feed constantly under strong teaching and instruction based solely on the word of God. Moreover, you must continuously live your life by the laws and principles of God. This is a call to holiness and righteous living. My prayer is that the grace of God will continually be available to us to live our lives to please God always. You are set for a great and mighty miracle this month, and definitely, people will celebrate with you in Jesus name.