Cease Striving and Rest

To strive means to make great efforts; to struggle or fight vigorously to achieve or obtain something. In our Christian life, we strive to make God proud by cleaning ourselves up or building godly habits. We are working hard to walk in God’s ways. Our desire to please God and bring Him glory can even take us out of the grace He provides, and into working for His love. Have we quietly moved from grace to working to please Him? Have we traded God’s salvation by grace, for our own efforts to become holy? Let’s take a look at several verses in the Bible that mention striving.

1 Timothy 4:7-8, 10 “Have nothing to do with silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”

Hebrews 12:14 ESV “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

Romans 15:30 “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,”

So, we learn here, that we have a call to put effort into being godly, and living in holiness. We are encouraged to make the effort to live peaceably with others and pray for them. We do have our part to play. We are to apply ourselves to cooperating with the Lord. Our desire is to please the Lord, and let His light shine through us.

Ephesians 2:4-6, 7-9 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, …For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

So where does our effort end and God’s grace begin? When do we stop trying so hard and let God do the work in us? Today, I need to remember that I am God’s workmanship. I cannot earn holiness, grace, or mercy through my works. It is God’s love that brought me salvation, and guides me each step. I cannot purify myself, and my efforts will expose my weakness. What I can do, is rely on God’s grace and be ever conscious of the miracle of His work within me. I can recognize God’s grace and be grateful.

Hebrews 4:10-11a “…for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, …”

Let’s remind ourselves that it is God who is doing the work in us. He is the vine, and we are the branches. Our job is to rest in what He has already done, and to abide in Him. It is His grace that we walk in. We can rest in His completed work and cease our striving for perfection.

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”