And Now You Know The Rest Of The Story...

For the next couple of blogs, let's talk about the "rest" we have in Jesus, especially concerning "faith" or "our own faith".

 Matt 11:28-30 Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

When it comes to "faith" we sometimes find it difficult to believe God because of what we have understood "faith" to be. Faith isn't something we "do", faith is something that happens to us. I had this all wrong. I used to think that faith was something I had to "muster up" within myself. "Oh, if only I could have more faith".

I heard the scripture, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God".  And so I felt I needed to hear more.  I've heard good hearted ministers actually quote it this way, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing...  So the more I would hear, the more faith I would have.

Well, there is a truth to this but not if we don't understand what faith is.  Let me put it this way, just because I keep hearing something doesn't mean I will believe it. If I don't think I am very smart or very talented, it doesn't matter how much I hear others tell me that I am, what matters is what I believe about myself. The same can be true about the promises of God. It doesn't matter how many times someone tells me that Jesus paid the price for my sins, if I don't believe my sins are forgiven it doesn't matter how many times I'm told the contrary.

First I must understand "what" faith is. Hebrewss 11:1 says, ¹Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  I heard a definition of faith put this way; Faith is " the persuasion because of an argument; and that persuasion is to the degree that it influences your world". 

Let me put it this way, Faith means "to be persuaded of a certain argument to the extent that it influences your belief system which impacts how you see things".

So let's read Hebrews 11:1 again, Now, "the persuasion about a certain argument that comes into your life, to the point that it influences your world" is the substance of things hoped for it is the evidence of things not seen".

We will get into this more in the coming days, but for today, I want to stop and meditate on a few points. Faith isn't something that we must work hard at. It isn't something that "we do", it is a fruit of what happens to us.  When I heard that my sins were forgiven and I was fully persuaded of this fact by what I came to understand the Word of God to say about Jesus' death burial and resurrection, I didn't have muster any strength to believe it. I became fully persuaded of the fact and therefore "faith" happened to me.

What promises from God's word do you need to see happen in your life today?  Trust God that He cares about that need and that He is working behind the scenes today bringing about His power to change the circumstances that you face which seem to be contrary to what the promises of God declare.

Do you have a loved one who has lost their way, a financial need that is bigger than your ability to meet that need, did you or a loved one get a bad report about their health? Trust that your Heavenly Father who gave His only Son up for you today, knows your cares and has asked you to cast them over to Him (1 Peter 5:7). He didn't design us to carry those burdens but to cast (the Greek word here is "as to heave") those burdens upon Him so that He could carry them on our behalf. Why?  Because He cares deeply for you.

Know that you are "yoked" with Jesus. Come and learn what He has done for you and you will find "rest" for your soul.  And now you know the "rest" of this story...