Faith is rest, not toil. It is the giving up all the former weary efforts to do or feel something good, in order to induce God to love and pardon; and the calm reception of the truth so long rejected, that God is not waiting for any such inducements, but loves and pardons of His own goodwill, and is showing that goodwill to any sinner who will come to Him on such a footing, casting away his own poor performances or goodnesses, and relying implicitly upon the free love of Him who so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son.
~Horatius Bonar
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.
~ Matthew 26:39
Truly, the work of salvation was done at The Cross. But, the last great battle waged before that work became possible was in the garden. The night before Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified, He fully surrendered Himself to the One who was about to bring about the whole process. This surrender assured that His sacrifice was perfect and not blemished by any human ego or self-righteousness.
And, surely beloved, He saves us from our sins through our faith in Christ alone. It is only through Christ that we are saved from hell. And only He can even give us the grace we need to believe. Period.
But, what is this faith the Bible talks about? Is it me believing “really hard” that Jesus died for me? Boy, do i hope not! i don’t know about you, but it only takes me about 5 minutes of trying really hard to believe before i start fading. It is like holding our breath. We can’t do it for very long. And, actually, if we keep doing it, we’re gonna die.
May this writer present a truth of Scripture that is exactly opposite of what most of us have been taught by our selves, our culture, and even our churches? Salvation is found in surrender. We are to forsake any hope that we could ever do anything, or keep anything to get into His kingdom on that Day. And we are to present ourselves in absolute surrender to the fact that He is the only one that can pull this off.
whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
~ Luke 14:33
We are to even abandon the concept that we can think properly for ourselves. We come to understand – in some deeper way – that our brains are designed to be receivers of wisdom and knowledge through a deep and reverent fear of the One who is wisdom and knowledge itself.
For as many are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.
~ Romans 8:14
We are to surrender our right to work hard for G_d. We are yield to the rest that He brings to our lives. And to do otherwise is a showstopper.
For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling,
~ Isaiah 30:15
So, words like hard – try – work – think are replaced with forsake (everything about ourselves) – led – rest – trust.
Dear reader. It works. You know it. i know it. Would that we would surrender to His leading and rest in Him alone tonight.
Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mould them accordingly.
~Ignatius
