I spent 2021 chronologically studying through the four Gospels. Now I have read the Gospels all the way through at least 20 times, but this past year was the first time that I ever chronologically studied through them. I read with the purpose of knowing Jesus and Jesus alone. I literally wrote down every recorded word He said.
As I followed Jesus and walked with Him through the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John I found that the Lord released me from so much information that had led to bondage in my life. One of those was the bondage that I placed on myself to basically kill myself to show Jesus how thankful I was that He saved me and to show others how their “letting me” serve Jesus would not be a disappointment to them. The concept of resting in God was foreign to me. Yet, this was a truth that the Lord Jesus taught.
“The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.) They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves. The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them.” (Mark 6:30-33)
I believe this is quite possibly what Jesus meant when He said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) The Sabbath is for rest. We need rest.
I have struggled with rest all my life and never more so than since the day I came to Christ in full surrender. Knowing I only have so much time on this earth, not wanting any to perish because I missed the opportunity to share Jesus with them, especially since I felt so very guilty of wasting so many years in my youth– I never could just rest in Him. I had to somehow be “working for Jesus” every moment that I was awake.
Today, I wonder that as people come to Jesus broken, ashamed, and wanting and then meet Jesus and experience freedom for the first time, in their gratitude for the grace of God, do people too easily take this gratitude and use it to manipulate them into what they now owe Jesus by their service to the church that reached them? Is it possible that our people pleasing personality that led to bondage apart from Christ could also be projected onto Jesus and when we are supposed to be walking in freedom in Him we discover that we have just handed our chains over to legalistic expectations? Is it possible that we have required of ourselves, at the encouragement of those that benefited from our labor, what Jesus never asked of us?
In the book of John after Jesus had just fed the five thousand from the five loaves and two fish from a lad, the crowd followed Him. Jesus knew that the crowd did not seek Him for Himself, but they sought Him for what He could do for them. They put in all this work and effort to get to Him, but it was not really to get to Him, but only to get to His provision of the earthly things they desired.
Jesus responded to their search efforts with some solid advice. “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal” (John 6:27). The crowd then asked, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” (John 6:28). So Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6:29).
Working the works of God is simply to believe Jesus. That’s it. Believe that Jesus was and is sent by God the Father. Believe Jesus, believe His every word. There are many voices that will speak at us and tell us what the “works of God” are, but Jesus simply says, “Believe in Me.“
How often do we wonder and ask ourselves, “what is God’s will for my life?” How much time do we spend in thoughts of comparison and unrealistic expectations as we struggle with self-doubt, self-worth, and self-confidence? We are washed in feelings of inadequacy and thoughts of being so unqualified to serve the God of all Creation. We are so often even told how ill equipped and unqualified we are by those who want to control us instead of shepherd and disciple us.
The truth is that it is impossible to be unqualified or ill equipped for God’s will for your life. It’s impossible because it is not about you, but it is about Christ in you. Let’s read what Jesus has to say about the will of God and about your ability to know it and carry it out.
And Jesus says, “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)
This is the will of God for your life. He wants you to behold His Son. He wants you to believe in Him. He wants you to have eternal life. He wants you to be raised up by Jesus on the last day. This is His will for you. Jesus said so.
Perhaps now you are thinking, “Well okay, that’s the big picture, but what about my day to day choices? What about all the different teachings coming from others concerning how we are supposed to live as those who believe Jesus? How will I know what is God’s will as I live here on this earth?” Let’s let Jesus answer that question as well.
Jesus says, “If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is of God, or I am speaking from Myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him” (John 7:17-18)
Knowing God’s will begins with being willing to do it. If you are not willing to walk in His will, no matter what that may look like, then you will never actually know what His will is for your life. In order to know God’s will, we have to already be surrendered to it before we even know exactly what it is. Take a moment and think and recall to mind the calling of Abraham, of Joseph, of Isaiah, of Jeremiah, of Elijah, of John, of Peter, of Paul… they didn’t know what or where or how or even when, but they were already surrendered to the Who and to the why. The Who of God and the why of their love for Him led them faithfully into the will of God no matter how bumpy and rocky the way traveled and no matter how blind they felt as they took each step.
So what is His will?
“For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)
His will begins with the desire that we, that everyone, sees the Son. If we want to know if a particular choice or direction is God’s will for us, then one of the questions we might want to ask ourselves is does this choice, this decision, help someone see the Son? Of course this can lead to another question.
How do they see the Son if Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven? Let’s let Jesus answer this one too.
“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.” (John 14:16-19)
“but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Jesus tells us that people will see Him in us because He will live in us. He will put His Spirit in us. He will grant us power to be His witnesses where ever we are because where ever we are there He is. He never leaves us. He forever walks with us. This goes back to what Jesus taught us about the works of God. What is the work of God? Believe Jesus.
In Galatians 2:20 Paul writes, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” In Hebrews 13 the writer encourages to remember that the God of peace, who raised Jesus our Lord, will equip us in every good thing to do His will. He will work in us that which is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ. He will work it in us and then we simply let what He has worked in come out. We know it is Hs will and His work if it brings glory to Jesus. If it reminds us that Jesus loves us, if it reminds us that He gave Himself up for us, if it leads us into our praise of His glorious name, then there is a good chance that was the right choice.
In our American culture we are so pushed to have goals and plans and investments for future. As soon as we come to know Jesus we begin stressing ourselves on questions like, What about God’s will for my life? What about my purpose? How do I know what I’m supposed to do? Let’s let Jesus answer these,
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:33-34)
We seek Jesus and we let His life and truth transform and conform us into His image. It doesn’t matter if we are a pastor, a musician, a doctor, an athlete, a teacher, a mother, a coach, a nurse, or disabled and bedridden because our purpose, is not a what or a where. Our purpose for God is not about what we accomplish with our hands, but what is accomplished in and through our hearts. Our work is always to be focused on a WHO and a WHY.
What is the work of God?
To believe in the One who He sent
What is the will of God?
To believe in His Son and receive eternal life
What is your purpose for God?
That others are able to see Jesus in you and through you, while they can believe and be saved.
How do you carry out your purpose?
By the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within you.
So rest my friend. Rest. It’s not about how many miles you travel, how many Bible studies you teach, how many conferences you attend, how many church programs you complete, how many degrees you receive. There are many who have done much of this, but they in no way brought glory to Jesus. They worked themselves to the flesh and became more and more unlike Jesus every step of the way and now they have caused many to blaspheme the only name given to man by which we can be saved.
Whom the Son has set free is free indeed. If what we have convinced ourself is the will of God brings bondage and oppression to ourself or others, if it makes us look less and less like Jesus, then we are walking in our will, or the will of another, but it is not God’s. God’s will may not be easy, but it will always bring glory to Jesus. It will always preach the gospel in word and deed.
Let’s just stop for a moment and rest. Let’s stand still for a bit and take a deep breathe and be reminded that the Lord is God. Then let’s make sure that the very next step we make is following the footprint of Jesus. Let’s just focus on honoring Him and bringing glory to His name and letting our life preach the Gospel of salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit that lives within us today. Then when tomorrow becomes today, we will face it with Him, because He will already be there. Let’s keep our focus on the Who and remember the why and we will let the where, when, what, and how come as the Lord leads and provides.