Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. Hebrews 4:1.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
The generation of the Israelites that I redeemed out of the slavery of Egypt, except for Joshua and Caleb, never entered the land flowing with milk and honey where they were to prosper, increase, and live days of Heaven upon the earth. After having lived under the iron yoke of slavery, it would have given them rest.
For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it with your foot like a vegetable garden. But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year. Deuteronomy 11:10-12.
And what would I give them there with no work on their part? Their own homes and land, cities and villages, that they did not possess as slaves. I was giving them rest in their own nation where they could spend their days in sweet companionship with Me, knowing My favor, provision, and care.
“Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” Deuteronomy 6:10-12.
I wanted a people that were Mine and who were in agreement with justice and goodness as expressed in My statutes and laws that I gave them as a nation. Those who loved Me and their neighbor as themselves. A model nation of unity and love, a nation where brethren dwelt as one and no one among them was needy or poor. They were to shine this beauty and prosperity out to call all nations to call them to seek the same joy and fruitfulness.
I brought them out to bring them into something so much better than to what they had there was no comparison, but they refused to go.
I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him. Psalm 32:8-10.
They found their old ways better because even though they were miserable, at least they were used to it and had no responsibility as slaves to govern themselves or do anything creative or meaningful.
Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved. Matthew 9:17.
But I want to share with you the reason that they would not go forward. They refused to go forward into the land I had made covenant with Abraham to give his descendants, and I had specified the exact time I would take them there, i.e., when they came out of the nation where they were slaves for four hundred years, was because they put no faith in My Word to them. They did not mix My promises with faith.
How could that have happened when they had experienced the ten plagues that devastated Egypt but never touched them, the Passover, the wealth transfer from the Egyptians to the Hebrews, and the escape from Egypt with the parting of the Red Sea and the victory over the Egyptians without their lifting a single weapon? Watch them and listen to their words and you will understand. They constantly found fault with everything I did to save them, they complained against Moses and Aaron constantly, they never believed anything I said but had to test it out, and they did not believe in My goodness. They constantly were asking why I brought them out of slavery to destroy them, or at least to give them an unpleasant life in the wilderness. Even while I was rescuing them from the Egyptians by a very clever battle strategy for a people with no weapons and no training in warfare, instead of watching in awe and love, knowing that I had delivered them from ten plagues already, they had developed no trust or confidence in Me to go forward. And yet I had just preserved their first born in the Passover. They never let themselves enjoy Me or be thankful. They only accused Me of ill will towards them.
Faith requires action that comes from a fully persuaded heart that what I promise I will perform.
Every time they complained, I gave them what they asked, from deliverance out of slavery to Manna raining down from Heaven in the morning, water gushing out of flinty rocks, and quail flying into the camp for the evening meal. They never appreciated Me or what I did for them. They took it all, including the wealth of Egypt, as if their due and continually grumbled and complained saying that they had been better off slaves in Egypt. But when they were slaves they cried out to Me in affliction and I heard and came down to save them out of their affliction. I could never please them, they continually criticized Me.
“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” Matthew 11:16-19.
They were judges and critics that found continual fault with Me. And many today, even among believers, do this as well. And the result of this critical, judgmental mindset that was focused on the flesh only? It kept them out of the of abundant land I so wanted to give them. And it is the same for you today. That is not seeking Me with your heart. You are acting as the judge.
Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. James 4:11.
Many think complaining, whining, grumbling, and fault finding will shame or persuade others, including Me, into giving them more and giving them special treatment, but it does not work that way with Me. If you find fault with the good things I shower upon you, you are telling Me you do not want them and I must cease giving them to you. Thanksgiving and appreciation of each benefit I give you opens the authority to Me to give you an increase of the same. Gratitude for your life, your job, your family, every gift, every paycheck, every smile, every good word and work, every answer to a prayer no matter how tiny or great it was, every bit of help given to you, even for a beautiful blue sky after the rain, along with thanksgiving for the rain, will cause more good things, more promotion, more favor to pour in.
Thanksgiving for good things that come to others will increase the same in your life, but if you are jealous and complain about benefits and promotions your co-workers, fellow students, neighbors, and competitors receive, you are judging that others should not have them so that same judgment must go back to you as well. You are excluding those things from your life as well. Love the good I do and it will come back to you, and more besides.
Seek with love and you will encounter the divine and in trusting love there is true rest. Faith, true faith, is a rest in My goodness, provision, and love. It is knowing that if I promised it, it is yours in Christ Jesus for sure. You just need to take it by faith. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is faith that the seed of My Word planted in your heart will grow the promise it contains. And that is guaranteed. I watch over My Word to perform it, so make sure it is in your heart and in your mouth. Do not judge My Word and criticize it, instead build with it and utilize it. Faith requires action and not resistance. To connect with My power it must be open to the flow.
What did I tell the Israelites in the desert that you should know as well?
“Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and he (the enemy) will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.” Deuteronomy 28:4-48.
How do you seek diligently to enter My rest so that your life becomes a flow of the days of Heaven upon the earth? I tell you. It is the three things that are My Will for you in Christ Jesus your Lord: “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give constant thanks.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. The Israelites that missed their destiny and never entered My rest failed in these three things completely. How about you?
And I explain these three as well: I tell you to rejoice in Me, not in the problem or the contrary circumstance, you are to bring things in line with My promises by faith, and faith starts by rejoicing in the end from the beginning. Know that I am the LORD your healer and you will laugh at sickness attacks when it attacks for I keep My promises to you for they are all “yes” to you in Christ Jesus. If lack comes, I am your Shepherd so you do not want and I am the LORD who sees ahead and provides the answer, and there is cause for rejoicing in the provision that I will show you how to obtain and gather. I am your righteousness and your sanctifier if you have fallen short, and there are so many more magnificent promises that are all yours in Christ Jesus. So rejoice when harm tries to show up, you can take it down.
Keep up constant communication with Me to get your answers, your comfort, your encouragement and your edification and direction just when you need it. That is prayer without ceasing. If you are always aware of Me with you and in you, you really never have a problem because you have the answer.
And give thanks constantly for the good result that your faith has connected to in My promise. Ask and you receive, but you receive in thanksgiving. Don’t keep begging for what I have said “yes” to, ask and receive with joyful praise and thanksgiving no matter how long it takes to manifest what I have freely given you in the spirit. It all starts in your heart but it does not stay there if you do the voice of thanksgiving. 2 Chronicles 20. There is no other way into My courts than thanksgiving and praise. You may sow in tears but you only reap in rejoicing.
And it is then that you enter My rest at all times, every time, and forever. Fully persuaded faith is a rest for the weary soul. In Me you have found your peace, SHALOM.
I love you, you know something not everyone knows: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28. Do you know that no matter what evil is brought against you I can turn it around for your good if you just stand your ground with Me in faith? If you do know this and do it, you have entered into My rest. Anxious complainers full of fear and a critical spirit do not know this.