There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest… Hebrews 4:9-11

The last song in the New Covenant musical is a short one; that’s because it’s such a simple and profound truth that it’s all said in four lines:

Rest, rest in Him
Your work is through
Lean back on His great power
He’ll work through you

That’s it. This is the new covenant in four lines. First, we must understand rest. This is not talking about lounging around on Sunday afternoon with the funnies. Nor is it about taking the easy way out of anything. Nor is it about not doing anything and letting God do everything.

It’s the new covenant because it talks about God’s power not our own. It’s God working through us. Our works get us nowhere. We can try harder but if we’re not depending on God’s power it won’t amount to anything.

The rest talked about here in Hebrews is the same rest that God took after He created the world. He ceased from His labors. That’s the same rest God wants us to enter into every day. We have ceased from our labors and now Christ lives in us by faith. It’s a mystery, but it’s the way God continues to move in the world. He moves through us. It’s all about the inner working of God’s power. Remember it’s everything from God and nothing from us, except to show up, and to believe that when we do, God shows up too, because He lives in us.

“Anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His.” So what is our work that we rest from? That’s easy. Anything we thought we had to do to please God. Anything we thought we had to do to get to heaven. Anything we thought we had to do to be a good Christian. Anything we thought we had to do to be a good witness. Anything we thought we had to do to be a good husband, father, wife mother. Care to go on? There’s no end to it.

What we’re talking about is basically anytime that we’re relying on ourselves to accomplish something — our talent, our strengths, our manipulations, our rationalizations, our good looks, our personality, our sense of humor. These are the things that are a means by which we compensate for our weaknesses, while we trust in ourselves and try to pull off an impressive show that hides our insecurities and our fear.

That’s why when we trust in the Lord, we can rest. This is the essence of the new covenant. We are who we are — imperfect people who have nothing to hide. If we did hide, it would be a tragedy because we wouldn’t be just hiding our failures and inadequacies, we’d be hiding the power of God and what He wants to accomplish through our imperfect humanity.

So as we wrap this up, there is no greater conclusion to the new covenant than to highlight our transparency which reveals our total dependence on God. And so we rest. We cease from our labors on God’s behalf and “make every effort to enter that rest…” In other words, work to quit working, and allow God to work through you.

Rest in Him
Words and Music by John Fischer

Rest, rest in Him
Your work is through
Lean back on His great power
He’ll work through you

Click here for a YouTube version of “Rest in Him”.