Wednesday – Ranger at Rest
Focus passage: Hebrews 4:1-8
Read: Matthew 11:28-29; Psalm 119:165; Joshua 1
Many people are looking for peace, joy, and contentment in life. They search for the kind of rest that Hebrews 4 speaks of, but most would rather reject Christ and His offer of rest through salvation.
As I write today, the Texas Rangers are playing in the Major League Baseball playoffs. Among the Rangers is an all-star player named Josh Hamilton. Josh was the very first player chosen in the 1999 draft, but five years later he was suspended from baseball for substance abuse. He’d become an alcoholic and cocaine addict. Because of a string of poor choices, he nearly destroyed his marriage and family and almost killed himself. God had better plans. In his book, Beyond Belief, Josh relates how God changed his heart and led him out of the wilderness to salvation and rest. He says that his inward transformation began the day he was saved and he was strengthened when he surrendered to God completely. His recovery would have been impossible without his relationship with Jesus. His life changed from “hopeless to hope-filled” when he turned to God. The destination of Josh’s journey through his wilderness would have been vastly different without faith in Christ. Josh found the rest and peace that the alcohol and cocaine could not give.
1. Entering into the promised land, Canaan, was a symbol of entering into God’s rest, entering into a life and relationship with Him. What other examples does the Bible give of God’s rest?
2. Remember the point in your life when you accepted God’s offer of rest, His gift of salvation. How is your life different than it could have been because you trusted Christ for your salvation?
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