Rest from Labour

Call to Prayer

Title: Rest from Labour

By: Daniel Peter

Date: 08.01.2024

For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. Hebrews‬ 4:10-11 NLT 

When God created mankind, He placed Him in a garden. In this garden, there were trees that had fruits that contained the different attributes of God (His blessings). Originally, man had access to these blessings freely, without labour. Though man was to work, he did not need to work to access these fruits, but to keep the garden (Gen. 2: 15-17).

However, when man fell, he did lose access to the trees in the garden as he was removed from their midst. Based on the punishment he received, he was now to work (labour) to eat, that is, to be blessed (Gen. 3:19). Therefore, working for the blessing is a sign of the curse in the land. This curse in the land was highlighted in the law, where the blessing was based on the work of the law (Deu. 30:16-20). To be blessed, they needed to obey certain laws; Their service and love for God was a means to the blessing. Apart from those in the law, many Christians still operate under this same mindset; the labour (work) to be blessed. However, the Gospel is simply the declaration of the removal of the curse in the land. That is, the Gospel proclaims access to the blessing without works, but simply by faith.

We enter into rest (freed from labouring to be blessed) by simply believing the Gospel. For example, in the Old Testament, which was a document that revealed the curse already in the land, healing and financial prosperity were based on their service of God (labour). For it says “So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you (Exo. 23:25-28). However, in the New Testament, which is a document highlighting the restoration to God’s original intent, healing and financial prosperity are accessed simply by faith, for it states “… by whose stripes ye were healed (1 Peter 2:24)“, and “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9 NIV)“. In the Old Testament, the blessing is a function of your obedience, but in the New Testament, we have already been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3), and this came to us because of the obedience of Christ and not ours (Rom. 5:19).

With the above said, does it mean that we do not need to obey God in the New Testament? We still obey the Lord’s instructions in the New Testament, but we don’t do it to be blessed but because we are blessed. Obedience is an act of faith, and it is by faith we access the blessing in the New Testament.

Prayer Point: 

Let’s thank God for His word today. Let’s ask Him to help us renew our minds and He should help us rest from our labour.