The book of Hebrews is dense and layered, and sometimes I feel like I’m just plodding along phrase by phrase. But in Hebrews 4, one line stopped me in my tracks: “Let us strive to enter that rest.”
Strive… for rest?
That feels backward. Rest should be effortless, shouldn’t it? Yet the writer of Hebrews insists that true rest takes effort. The more I sat with that paradox, the more sense it made.
Weary Souls
First, let’s be honest: without Jesus, there is no peace, no rest. Sin wears us out. It complicates everything—our relationships, our thoughts, our hopes. The noise of the world, the constant letdowns, the disappointments… it leaves us drained. Depression itself can be described as exhaustion, a heaviness that sinks deep into the bones. If ever we needed rest, it’s now.
As I write this... I feel exhausted- not physically tired, just worn down on a quiet Labor Day morning.
Fighting Rest
But rest doesn’t come easily. In fact, we fight it. I remember when my oldest daughter was little—she was a master at resisting naps. She had a thousand excuses and requests. Even when I finally rocked her, she kicked her legs and squirmed until, under gentle and loving pressure, she finally surrendered to sleep.
Aren’t we the same with God? We kick, resist, and argue—even when He is offering us peace. To rest in Him means to stop striving in our own strength, and that surrender feels like loss of control.
Striving to Enter
So what does Hebrews mean by striving for rest? It means rest in Christ is not passive. It doesn’t come by drifting. We must actively set aside unbelief, pride, and disobedience. We must seek Him in prayer, steep ourselves in His Word, lift our hearts in worship, and soften our hearts to His correction.
Rest is not laziness—it’s trust. It’s an active laying down of our burdens at His feet.
Eternal Rest
And one day, the striving will end. Even our final rest—death—is something people fight against, kicking and screaming. Yet for the believer, death is not defeat. It’s graduation into the eternal Sabbath of God.
Heaven is not an endless sleep—it’s the joy of God’s presence, freedom from the pain and frustrations of this broken world. It’s rest at last, the fulfillment of every longing.
The most human thing is rest, and yet it’s the hardest thing for sinners. But in Christ, God invites us:
“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).
Our striving, then, is simply this: to keep clinging to Him until the day He brings us safely home.
So let me STRIVE to REST .... as ironic as REST on LABOR DAY.
