Entering His Rest
Well it looks like I originally wrote the majority of what you see below about 2 year ago, that’s when I cut off social media and reclaimed my life. I’m not always consistent with this whole blogging thing for a couple of reasons. For one, life can be insanely busy. For instance I have my own horse now and he takes a lot of time, time which I enjoy and am willing to give, but still time. His name is Comet and he is amazing. And man do horses grow quick! Here he was last April compared to the other day. And I’m telling you now, I think he’s even grown since I took the latest picture, haha:
I just don’t find the time to write very often. But the other reason is best told by a journal entry that I wrote a while back. I’ll just transpose it below:
02/09/2017
Dear Journal,
I’ve been thinking about writing to you, but I always stop and think, “What is the purpose?”. In everything that I do, I feel the need to see and understand the purpose behind that action.
So I’ve come to the conclusion that the purpose of writing to you is simply to express my thoughts to myself. As strange as that may sound, that is the only purpose I see in writing to you.
Writing helps me to organize my thoughts and draw sound conclusions about things. Plus I am able to look back and see how trivial most things truly are. Something that was a matter of life and death one day (or so it seemed), turns out to be nothing more than an inconvenience the next. This type of reflection helps me focus on the important things in life.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV reads:
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.”
This verse comforts me, because when I look at the circumstances of life, I know that it is happening for a reason and that it is only for a season.
No rhyme intended at the end of that entry, haha. But in all seriousness, I think we could all stand to look closer at our own actions and find the purpose behind them. If God is not in the purpose then they have no place in you as a believer. Well anyways, with that, here is the original post I typed. I finished it today but the first part was typed a couple of years ago.
I made the decision the other day to delete all of my social media accounts. Yes that’s right, I run a computer support/ web development company and I’m not on any social media platform. I just felt that the amount of time I was wasting on those platforms was just that, wasted time. I also cut online gaming out of my life a few months back for basically the same reasons.
Something that I’m not always open about is my struggle with anxiety. I don’t mean that I lay awake at night worrying etc.. I just mean that I have this constant drive, a drive that says “You’re not doing enough” even when I can barely stand up. This internal force that pushes me to say yes to everyone, that makes me sacrifice my own happiness for that of my peers. Well the other day I realized after some retrospection that the majority of my stress in 2018 was not from running a business, it was related to this drive to be more than I can be. It was partly from perusing social media and feeling like others were so much further along than I was, but not recognizing the obvious fallacy that this was their whole and complete life. Not looking from the proper perspective and being grateful for everything and everyone that God has placed in my life.
I decided right then and there that social media was doing more harm than good so I decided to cut it off. I downloaded my years of pictures from both Instagram and Facebook and deleted my accounts. The next day I was driving home and the Lord reminded me of a scripture in Hebrews 4:
8For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
9There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
10For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
I want to take a moment to speak on verse 9. The Word says that there remains a rest to the people of God. This implies that a large number of God’s people have not entered into this rest. Why would we all strive to climb the world’s ladder only to hate the person we have become. Why wouldn’t we just strive to enter the rest that God promises in His Word. To cease from our own works and let Him work out His perfect will in our lives? This reminds me of Mark 8:36
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
Without God and the great commission, what point is there to life? We leave this world the same way we came, and none of the things we kick and scratch to obtain can go with us. I mean even your body stays behind. The soul is the only thing that persists. So why wouldn’t we spend our time piling up riches in the heavenly realm? Besides, worldly things don’t truly satisfy. Think of buying a new car or computer, when you first buy it you are thrilled. But within a year or two (or less) it just becomes an everyday item and you are looking for the next thing. In fact this reminds me of Matthew 6:20-21
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
So I say, stop toiling for things, just let God show himself strong on your behalf. Don’t worry about the world and their ways. You don’t have to climb the ladder with others, God will give you an elevator to the top if you give your everything over to Him. God says in 2 Chronicles 16:9
9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.”
So my whole goal in life is to have a loyal heart towards God. To do my absolute best to please Him. He will show himself strong on my behalf if I do so. And this is not some special thing given only to me, this is for every believer. You just need to have faith for it. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.
But we are then warned in Hebrews 11:6 that God REQUIRES faith from us. A lack of faith will displease God EVERY TIME:
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
So with that we arrive at the end of this post. Thanks for reading!
This is Greg, over and out.