“And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” (Heb 3:18-19)

Everywhere you look, people seem restless. For those who are unbelievers, this should not be a surprise. Isaiah, years ago, recorded these words: “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” (Is 57:20-21) They are as restless as the waves that slam the seashore during a storm, and they have no peace.

What bothers me is the fact that many believers also seem restless. They seem so unfulfilled, so dissatisfied.

According to our text the major cause of this is doubt or unbelief,

Doubt is the disease of this inquisitive, restless age. It is the price we pay for our advanced intelligence and civilization -the dim night of our resplendent day.1

Is it not strange, that we can trust Jesus for salvation, but we can’t trust him in everyday living? When conflict comes, or that adverse circumstance arises or that dreaded disease is diagnosed, we lose our peace. Not only in the big things of life, but even in the lesser areas. If our God is big (in fact, infinite), then why can’t we trust him? Why are we so restless? Why do we have so little peace?

The Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King Charles I of England, lies buried in Newport Church, in the Isle of Wight. During the time of her father’s troubles she was a prisoner in Carisbrook Castle, in the same beautiful island. While there, she had a long spell of sickness. She was found one day, dead in her bed with her Bible open before her, and her finger resting on these words, “Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” A monument in Newport, erected by Queen Victoria, represents the young princess with her head bowed in death, and her hand rests on a marble book before her, her finger pointing to the words.

Do you have that same rest of belief?

- Pastor Stevens

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  1. Billy Graham [↩]