10 Things You Can Do To Strive To Enter God’s Rest

Our human nature is the only nature we really know when we’re born. It is even the only nature we know when we are ‘born again’. But this is the beginning of needing to learn a new nature and letting go of the only one we have known up until then.

So all that comes very natural to us should be questionable in our spiritual growth process. We are not to lean on our own understanding, for example. I don’t know about you, but my understanding is the only understanding I have, until I gain further or another’s understanding.

The enemy knows our fallen human nature very well and can find a great deal in us to condemn us for once we recognize it as unholy. But we shouldn’t be giving him room to use it against us. Did we really think that we were made Holy instantly when we came to believe Jesus as God’s son, crucified, died, buried for our sin and resurrected? No. So we can truthfully acknowledge our imperfect state and hold to God’s promise to make us perfect as He is perfect.

So here are just some things we can do to ‘strive’ to enter God’s rest where we can trust Him to do in us what He has promised and release ourselves from the bondage of condemnation that serves only to undermine our faith.

10 Things to do to enter His rest:

1. Agree with the enemy that you are imperfect and unable to do more to be perfect.

2. Confess your weakness to God.

3. Tell yourself to keep turning to Jesus in humility and weakness.

4. Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to perfect the Father’s will in you, in your spirit.

5. Do not allow self-pity in even though you feel it is warranted (this is an enemy tactic!)

6. Refuse to attempt some spiritual achievement in your own power.

7. Accept what God brings to you as His will for you (no matter what it is, even of the enemy – see Job – and make it an issue of prayer).

8. Accept that what God brings into your life may well be the cross He has given you to bear (even to share in His sufferings).

9. Do not bring true spirituality (what God is doing in you to perfect you) into the fallen realm. In other words, having begun in the spirit, don’t expect to finish in the flesh (laws, rituals, regimens, promises, rules, etc).

10. Refuse to lean on your own understanding (as much as you are able). Resist the temptation to do what you know, what you’ve done before, what ‘makes sense’ and what would even seem right. Either wait for the Holy Spirit to confirm it as His will, or wait for new, spiritual understanding. Doing the best that you are able.

I’m sure there are many more things we could do that I have missed. Please share more that you know of by leaving your comments.

 

Strive to Enter His Rest

Do we not believe in the most amazing God?!

How fantastic to have a God, sovereign over the universe, galaxies, all of creation, even the smallest details of our lives, and He loves us UNCONDITIONALLY!!!

Think about that and what it really means. Now, some may think it means we can do whatever we like and He will love us no matter what we do, including sin. Truth is, yes, He will love us no matter what we do, however, He will be compelled as a Father, to discipline us for the sin and reckless, thoughtless, inconsiderate behaviour we do. He will still love us though.

As for our spiritual growth, He is ultimately responsible. We are accountable, He is responsible, as a friend so kindly reminded me recently. We must do what we know to do and the Lord is responsible for transforming our nature into His as we submit to Him. Submitting can only come by repentance which is a turning away from sin (our own way) and being willing for God’s way.

The Holy Spirit would then take the submission of our spirit and begin His work, some of which is unseen and unknown to us as it takes place in the spiritual realm. A depth (or height) far, far beyond mental (and even emotional) comprehension.

God has made the promises to us that He will complete the work He has begun and continue this until the day of Jesus Christ. We, in and of ourselves, even a will completely bent to God, can not transform ourselves. We can not even truly comprehend what it is our nature is to be transformed into. It is just not possible for us to do this.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Here is where we learn to REST. We must strive with our ‘flesh/self’ to restrain it from being active, but we can only do that as much as we are able. Our ability will be imperfect. Yet, in this we learn to overcome by submitting our ‘selves/flesh’ to Christ who loves us implicitly and unconditionally, thoroughly and utterly, and we must trust that He is doing in us what He has promised to do for our spiritual growth.

It is us as lowly people that view everything as evenly and justly reciprocal. Is this not why we think an eye for an eye is legitimate? Or a tooth for a tooth? Or why we shouldn’t have to forgive someone a terrible injustice against us? But God is far greater than this. He is about LIFE, not the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He is also teaching us to come up higher to this as well.

We can trust Him. It is in HIS BEST INTEREST to perfect us. Why? Because He is GLORIFIED IN US!

“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” John 15:8

The struggle we have with accepting this truth, I think is primarily when the enemy comes to accuse us of not doing all we ‘should’ be doing for our spiritual growth. Can we really expect to behave sinless while yet imperfect? Obviously not blatant and intended sin, but we still have a fallen nature. We must become aware of the enemies tactics to undermine our faithfulness to Christ and condemning our efforts to ‘prove’ our love to God.

How do you strive to enter His rest? What have you found to be helpful in your own transformational process? Have you become aware of the enemy that seeks to condemn you and your efforts to love God and be faithful to Him? Or are you still struggling with condemnation?

Have you found this post to be helpful at all? Please leave your comments.