Are You Resting or Wrestling
by Joe Coyne

Pastor Joseph Coyne is the Senior Pastor of Harvest World Outreach Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. Together he and his wife Misti, serve a growing church that welcomes and embraces people of all races and cultures. They have two wonderful children and have dedicated their lives to help and equip people as well as ministries to impact Greensboro, the Triad and unreached nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastor Coyne holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Appalachian State University. He and his wife are both graduates of Rhema Bible Training Center, in Tulsa Oklahoma.

Hebrews 4:3 (Amplified) “For we who have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest, in accordance with His declaration that those [who did not believe] should not enter when He said, As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest; & this He said although [His] works had been completed and prepared [and waiting for all who would believe] from the foundation of the world.”

A word that has come up in my heart and mind lately is the word rest. The rest I am talking about is "the rest" of trusting in God and His Word. I believe at times we have literally tried to supersede God’s authority in our lives by taking matters into our own hands. By doing so, we have slipped over into a very uncomfortable and exhausting place of unrest or a place of wrestling.

There is a place of REST in the Lord. We can enter into the rest of God, where we do not fear the strategies of the enemy, the challenges before us, or the shaken world’s system. A place where we are doing our part while trusting God to do His. Psalm 3:1-3 (NLT) “O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. So many are saying, ‘God will never rescue him!’ But you, O Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts my head high.” I believe that King David knew how to rest in the Lord. In the context of this scripture, David finds himself fleeing for his life from his son Absalom who undermined his ruler-ship. David was not sitting on his throne in a place of power, he was running for his life from traitors yet still at the same time resting in the Lord.

The Apostle Paul could identify with David, for he was surrounded by hundreds of unreceptive Jews who were set on his destruction. Acts 23:11-12 (The Message) “That night the Master appeared to Paul: ‘It’s going to be all right. Everything is going to turn out for the best. You’ve been a good witness for me here in Jerusalem. Now you’re going to be my witness in Rome!’  Next day the Jews worked up a plot against Paul. They took a solemn oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed him.” The plot to assassinate Paul seemed foolproof, except for the fact that Paul knew the Lord was the lifter of his head. He also had a promise from God, “you’re going to be my witness in Rome!"  God arranged for Paul’s nephew to hear of the plan and to be taken to inform the commander of the army of the evil plot. The commander then intervened, & the plot was blocked. Isaiah 54:17 (Message) “If anyone attacks you, don’t for a moment suppose that I sent them, And if any should attack, nothing will come of it.”

Hebrews 4 reveals that REST is a priceless commodity, stemming first from a promise from God. Hebrews 4:1-3 (The Message) “For as long, then, as that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God’s goal for us, we need to be careful that we’re not disqualified. We received the same promises as those people in the wilderness, but the promises didn’t do them a bit of good because they didn’t receive the promises with faith. If we believe, though, we’ll experience that state of resting. But not if we don’t have faith. Remember that God said, Exasperated, I vowed, ‘They’ll never get where they’re going, never be able to sit down and rest’." God’s promises can give us rest and soothe our minds when we are troubled. A key to walking in the rest of God is to combine our faith with the promise God has given to us for our situation. Faith is the “fuel” in our “engine” that brings the promise to life. A promise without faith has no power, in the same way that an engine without fuel has no power.

How can we know that our faith is activating a promise? When the result is rest. The moment our faith mixes with a promise, a perfect rest enters our hearts. All anxiety, frustration, fears and worries depart and God’s rest is ours. God is not worried about problems! When we believe His Word, we enter into His rest. When we are troubled we must bring a promise to God’s throne, mix it with faith, and sit quietly in the rest of God with expectation until He performs it. Dennis Hester said, “I’m always calling preachers to more meditation, reflection, and solitude within this rat race we live in. If we do not ‘come apart’ to be with the Lord, we will surely ‘come apart’.”

As we take time to wait on God, we can go from wrestling to resting in Him. Isaiah 40:25-31(Message) "So—who is like me? Who holds a candle to me?" says The Holy. Look at the night skies: Who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off, calls each by name—so magnificent! so powerful! & never overlooks a single one? Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, "God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me"? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired (gives REST), gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire & drop out, young folk in their prime stumble & fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.”

(Source Unknown) One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. "I don’t get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did."  "But you didn’t notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest."

What a good word!  Are we taking time to rest and sharpen our ax? I believe when we attend church, read the Word of God daily, pray, learn, grow, gain wisdom and life skills, we are not only gaining rest but we sharpening our ax to be more effective in life and ministry. Isaiah 30:15 (Amp.) “For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me] you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength. But you would not,” …

Quietness is a state of ease and rest, of no longer struggling and fretting. That’s the point where you enter into rest about the situation by faith in God’s promise. You’re no longer wrestling, frustrated, fretting, fearful, or troubled. You’re not trying to get something, but you believe that you have received it, and there is a REST on the inside of you. Benjamin Franklin said, “He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities. The Word of God says in Hebrews 4:3 (KJV), “For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world”. There must be a point where you start believing that you receive the promise of God.

We can come into the rest of God and say, "I’ve got it; it’s mine". I’m no longer wrestling, but I’m resting in the promises of God. Russell Kelso Carter (1849-1928) wrote the hymn, “Standing on the Promises”. Read these words that Russell Carter penned as he found his place in the rest of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ my King, Through eternal ages let His praises ring, Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail, When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, By the living Word of God I shall prevail, Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I now can see Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me; Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free, Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord, Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword, Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall, List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call, RESTING in my Savior as my all in all, Standing on the promises of God.

Chorus:
Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

Are You Resting or Wrestling? Thank God we can rest in our Savior as our all in all, “Standing on the promises of God.”