Words by Charles Wesley/Music by Craig Smith

Matthew 11:28-30



Lord I believe in a rest that remains

To all Thy people known

A rest where pure enjoyment reigns

And Thou art loved alone

A rest where all our souls desire

Is fixed on the things above

Where doubt and pain and fear expire

Cast out by perfect love



Remove this hardness from my heart

This unbelief remove

To me the rest of faith impart

The sabbath of Thy love

Safe in the way of life above

Death, earth and hell we rise

We find when perfected, perfected by love

Our long sought paradise



Come O my Saviour come away

Into my soul descend

No longer from Thy creature stay

My author and my end

Come Father, Son and Holy Ghost

And seal we Thine abode

Let all that I am in Thee be lost

Let all be lost in my God



"And by the seventh day, God completed His work which He had done and He

rested..." Genesis 2:2



"There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the

one who has entered His rest has himself rested from his works as God

did from His." Hebrews 4:9,10



"Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28



"Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall

through following the same example of disobedience (unbelief)." Hebrews

4:11



God's rest after the creation had nothing to do with tiredness. It had

everything to do with completion. God had an eternity of energy and

power remaining, but He rested because His creation was complete. Have

you ever wondered what God's plan was for the eighth day? It was not

much work; the work was complete. God desired to walk and commune with

His creation in His completed world that they might continue in His rest

together.



Man interrupted that rest through disobedience and unbelief. We, in our

natural state, have chosen our way rather than God's. We somehow have

been deceived to believe that enough award of achievement, enough

satisfaction of desire, and enough accumulation of possessions will

allow us to reach a point of comfort in relaxation and rest. But, there

is always more to accomplish, more to experience, and more to possess.

That is why we can find ourselves successful, yet unsatisfied,

unfulfilled, and weary.



It is then that the Savior gently invites us to come to Him, walk with

Him, learn from Him, and share in His rest. To yoke ourselves with Jesus

Christ, we must lay down our burdens, surrender our motives, and

relinquish our methods. "Not my will, Lord, but Thine!" You must settle

that issue deep in your heart; once and for all. Then your rest will

begin. It will increase as you walk with Him, learn from Him, and apply

your faith.



To refuse to settle this is unbelief--the disobedience that rules out

rest. To lay aside the self-preferences of pride, lust, and

covetousness, and then trust in the promises of God will surely yield

rest. God's plan has never changed; He has made provision through His

Son for your completion, and with completion there is a rest that

remains.--Steve Swift