The Book of Hebrews points us toward the rest of God. We are in the rest of God when we know deep in our heart we can do nothing of ourselves.

God finished everything from the beginning and our days were ordained of Him at that time. We must grasp this deeply and strive to find out what we are supposed to be and do.

We are under a better covenant than that of Moses. Our Sabbath rest operates every second of our life. We always seek the Lord's will and ways and we rejoice mightily in them. We delight to turn away from our own thoughts and plans and to rest in His almighty will.

And we have a clear goal—to mature in the character of Jesus and to be in union with God through Jesus; finally, to have the Father and the Son come and make Their eternal abode in us as we prepare to put on a redeemed body.

Then we have all eternity to fulfill the role for which we have been predestined, in the meanwhile revealing to all of God's creation the Person, will, way, and eternal purpose of God in Christ.

We spoke earlier that residence in Heaven is not a fitting fulfillment of the symbolism of the land of promise because we do not have to fight the enemy city by city to enter Heaven. It is true rather that the fulfillment of the symbolism of the land of promise is the rest of God. When we decide to enter the rest of God, that is, conformity to the image of Jesus Christ and untroubled rest in the center of God's will, rest in the Person of God through the Lord Jesus Christ, we discover that the enemy will resist every step we take. But every step we take, as we are guided by the Holy Spirit, is our possession for eternity.

If we are to enter the rest of God we must realize that the enemies that oppose us are also God's enemies. We could never conquer them in our own wisdom and strength. They are far wiser and stronger than we.

But when we understand we can do nothing of ourselves, that the battle is the Lord's, that His wisdom and power are far, far superior to that of our common enemy, then we can rest in God while we press forward toward the rest that is the goal.

The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them. (Deuteronomy 7:22-24—NIV)

We have been called from the foundation of the world to be God's witness and His covenant with mankind. Now God is resting while the power of His Word is bringing His will to pass. Let us strive to enter that rest. (from I Can Do Nothing of Myself)