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. (Matthew 11:29–30)
The gospel declares that God will provide the faith that you need. Indeed, the gift of grace comes wrapped in faith (Romans 10:17). But what is faith?
Faith is a rest: “Take my yoke upon you and you will find rest for your souls.”
Faith is allowing yourself to be persuaded that God is good and he longs to be good to you. When you are persuaded, the issue is settled and your mind is at rest.
In a world of heavy burdens, Grace comes offering rest. Unbelief responds, “Leave me alone, I’m busy.” But faith responds, “Rest, you say? I’ll have some of that, thank you very much!”
It’s a totally different way to live and nothing like the DIY religion many of us have been raised on.
“For anyone who enters 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” (Hebrews 4:10–11).
The gospel is not an invitation to pick up tools, but to drop them.
The gospel is not a job advertisement, but a holiday.
The gospel is not a day of work; it’s a day of rest.
Grace declares, “It is finished, the work is done,” and faith responds, “Thank you, Jesus!”
Faith is not something you must do or manufacture. Faith is resting in the restful persuasion that God is at rest, and in him so are we.
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I love your simple but elegant definition of faith. God gave me the faith of Jesus as a gift. Now I can rest. Wow! I spent the first 40+ years in ministry working tirelessly to build my faith to prove to God that He hadn’t made a mistake in saving me and then to gain access to the treasure He purchased for me through Jesus’ death on the cross. Fear and a Pharisee’s mindset drove the first. A passion for the gifts that rivaled my passion for the Giver drove the second. As a child of the Charismatic Faith Movement, a judgmental legalism robbed me of joy and peace. Grace saved me a second time – from sin and then from my own works. Thank you for your part in revealing the true heart of my Father. I so love and enjoy the life Jesus died to give me.
Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by grace, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” All glory, honor, praise, and worship to all of who God is for us in Christ Jesus forever.
Exactly what I needed at exactly the right time. I have a problem that I read study and listen to sermons on the 7000 (?) promises of God BUT….Why wont they work for me I want this pain in my body gone! When I read study pray…. I feal like I am working for it, and when I rest I feel like I am doing nothing ?????