Gods Sabbath

106

E NTERING INTO G OD ’ S S ABBATH R EST

Centuries have passed since Kadesh Barnea. Once more God’s people are close to the promised land—this time the heavenly Canaan. Many times in the intervening years they could have crossed over, but although they had great faith and zeal for the cause of God, they could not enter into that rest because they did not learn His ways. He was not recognized as being the great and only Plan Maker, Burden Bearer, and Problem Solver. In stead, generation after generation have repeated the mistake of making their own plans in an attempt to fulfil God’s purposes. To avoid making this mistake is the lesson which God’s people have to learn before they can finish the work and rest in the heavenly mansions. Many promising starts have been made during which God’s people have looked to Him alone for directions, but all too soon, the time has inevitably come when they have substituted their own plan making. They lost sight of the truth that Jeremiah ex pressed in these words: “I know, O L ORD , that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” Jeremiah 10:23. God’s children have not yet entered the promised land, nor will they, until a people are raised who have learned this vital lesson and who become immovably established on the principle that God is their only Plan Maker and Problem Solver. Every generation has tried to do things their own way. Is it not time for us to trust God to do it His way? As Paul says, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who en ters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:9–11.