I have a favorite chair . . . actually I have two of them. They are the exact same chair . . . both rocker-recliners. One is situated in a good spot for watching television . . . the other, facing opposite the first, is the go to place if I want the best spot for listening to music. I enjoy settling into either of those chairs. They allow me to take a load off my feet . . . they invite me to lay back and stretch out . . . often, they usher me into an enjoyable power nap. They came to mind this morning as I considered another place of rest.

Hebrews 4 is an invitation to rest . . . and a warning against failing to enter that rest.

The warning is founded in the outcome of those who Moses led out of Egypt. God had provided great deliverance . . . they had all experienced it. God had also promised to bring them into “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:8), but they had problems believing it. And so, instead of entering the land, they refused because they didn’t think they were mighty enough to take it . . . nor did they believe that their God was trustworthy enough to be counted on to give it to them. And so, instead of entering the promised land of rest, they instead wandered in the desert, their bodies eventually falling in the wilderness. Simply said, “they were unable to enter because of unbelief” (Heb. 3:19).

God has provided another great deliverance . . . providing the means for the bondage of sin to be broken . . . making a way of escape from the slavery of this impossible to please, taskmaster world . . . having sent One greater than Moses to lead all who would follow Him into a promised kingdom . . . inviting all those who are weak and carry heavy burdens to know a rest He has provided. Says the writer to the Hebrews, “. . . the promise of entering His rest still stands” (4:1).

The rest is founded on the principle of a completed work. Just as God ceased from His labors on the seventh day, after six days of laying the foundation of the world, so too there is a rest available based on the promise of a finished work.

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His. (Hebrews 4:9-10 ESV)

I enter that rest when I no longer rely on my efforts to merit it. When I believe the good news that God, in His great love toward us, sent His Son to remove all the barriers of entering into His promised rest . . . that because of the finished work of the cross of Jesus, I need not spin my wheels in vain attempts to merit His acceptance . . . that through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, I no longer need to look to my own power to “walk in the way” but, instead, can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Php. 4:13).

The promise of rest is inviting . . . the pressure to resist is real . . . fueled by unbelief and doubt. Will God really forgive me? Is the blood of Jesus truly sufficient to atone for all my sin? Haven’t I goofed up too many times for Him to continue loving me? Don’t I need to work a little harder in order to deserve His rest? Answer key: Yes, Yes, No, No.

There is a Sabbath rest for the people of God. Mine is to believe it . . . cease from counting on my own efforts . . and to enter into it by faith.

It is the best spot in the place. It is the only spot in the place . . . for settling in . . . stretching out . . . closing my eyes . . . and taking in the music of heaven.

By His grace . . . for His glory!