Working 9 to 5

Last week I spoke about taking a break, a 'selah' moment frequently in your day to mediate and be intentional about thinking about God.  Today I want to think about working!

The author of Hebrews tells us that we need to work, but contrary to the way many Christians live, it's not about DOING stuff; instead the instructions reads like this:

Hebrews 4:11 (KJV)
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

 LABOUR: to use speed, i.e. to make effort, be prompt or earnest: — do (give) diligence, be diligent (forward), endeavour, labour, study. Endeavour, do diligence, be diligent, give diligence, be forward, labour, study;
to hasten, make haste, to exert one's self, endeavour, give diligence

This is a call to put energy and effort into something; but it's not about working in the way we often think.

In Hebrews 6:1 the writer says "...not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works..." 'Dead works' refers to doing stuff to try to please God.  God's plan for us to get into rest.. That word 'rest' is a Hebraism meaning 'to calm the wind'.  God wants us to work at staying in a state of calm or peace.  It takes effort because our natural way, is to work it out, solve the problem; do it all ourselves.

How so we enter this rest? We do this when we stop striving to please God and live in the provision that he made for us.  When we realise we are already pleasing to God, when we realise that we cannot earn or move God by what we do, and when we realise how blessed we are in Christ, then we can rest.  Rest in his love; rest in that peace and rest knowing God has taken care of everything that relates to life!  It's a totally different lifestyle.

Rest isn't about sitting down and being inactive, but it's about being in that place of peace while we are active.  The Hebrew word for peace is SHALOM. 

Wikipedia defines that as "a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility"

 The world, the devil and even our own minds will wrestle with us to try and get us to focus on our insufficiency, our lack or inability, but God calls us to this rest which looks at his All-sufficiency, his total provision and his power and ability!  That is what we need to work on!! 

 So this week's exhortation is for you to work at being at rest.  Whatever your circumstances, look at them through this truth and see what happens!

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