Hebrews 4:9-11 TPT
So we conclude that there is still a full and complete “rest” waiting for believers to experience. [10] As we enter into God’s faith-rest life, we cease from our own works, just as God celebrates his finished works and rests in them. [11] So then we must give our all and be eager to experience this faith-rest life, so that no one falls short by following the same pattern of doubt and unbelief.
Spiritual rest is not about inactivity; it is about resting in His activity. God wants us to cease from the “do it the best I can” syndrome. I find that so many Christians are exhausted on the inside, full of despair and discouragement as a result of doing the best they could for God. God doesn’t want us working for Him. He wants to work through us. In Acts 19:11, Luke described with simplicity how the Christian life is supposed to work; “And God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul.”
God needed Paul’s hands, not so that Paul could use his hands to work for God. Instead, God needed Paul’s hands to be available so that God could perform extraordinary miracles through Paul’s hands. There’s a huge difference between offering God your ability so that you can work hard for Him, and offering God your availability so that God can demonstrate His ability through you.
The question you might ask then is, “What, therefore, is my work in this relationship with God in Christ?” The answer is shockingly simple. It is so simple it becomes a stumbling block to many, if not most, Christians. “They said therefore to Him, ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom the Father has sent.’” – John 6:28- 29.
Grammatically, verse 29 should be translated like this, “This is the continual moment by moment work of God, that you wholeheartedly believe in Him whom the Father has sent.”
This is the “rest of faith,” our trusting in His divine activity. It is time to start resting from your ability, and start resting in His.