“Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me and proved me and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation and said, “It is a people that do err in their heart and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.” {Psalm 95:8}
I believe there is a place of rest with God, even on this earth now, a rest in our souls and a peace. I believe living for God is constant, moment by moment, and every second of the day. Sure, you have stuff you do that’s not “of God” but still even there – whether work or play – your heart, your thoughts, and desires are ever the Lord’s. The key to living victoriously is that continuous desire to be with Him, whether you’re home doing His desire – like the study of His word or in prayer, or whether you’re outside doing something else. When you belong to the Lord and His Holy Spirit is ever with you, there is this desire to always love Him and praise Him and say, even if it’s just in your thoughts, “I love You, Jesus…I thank You, for You, Jesus…Thank You for your love…Thank you for Your grace…Thank You, Father, You mean the world to me. Thank You, Jesus.”
We have to trust His Holy Spirit to guide us and direct our steps. We have to be open to it. Maybe He doesn’t want you to pray right away. Even though your mind might say, “This is crazy! This can’t be from the Lord.” And yet, on the other hand, your heart is hungering for more of His word. Follow it. Read His word. You’ll see. If you do what the Lord places in your heart, and trust He is guiding you, soon you will fill that void in your heart with His word. Then He will lead you next to talk to Him and to pray, because He’s the One that does the work of righteousness, not us. It should not be us. If we are rigid and we must do His work “a certain way” then the righteousness is in us now, it’s not His anymore. The word of the Lord says our righteousness is but filthy rags before God’s eyes. We are saved by grace, not by our works. So we have to be careful that it is His righteousness that is at work, not ours. If we are careful to listen to His Holy Spirit and His leading, then there is rest. There is no worry of, “I’m not being good enough…” or, “I am not where I think I should be…” When we are always talking to Him anyway, loving the Lord anyway, then we can believe and trust in His love for us that He is leading us to the path of His righteousness for His name’s sake. There is rest for the people of God – today, tomorrow, and afterwards, in eternal life.
“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 fall after the same example of unbelief.” {Hebrews 4: 9-11}
