Something Worth Being Afraid Of - One Year of Dinner Table Devotions and Discussion Starters
Something Worth Being Afraid Of
Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
Because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.
Hebrews 3:19
God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today.
Hebrews 4:7
Throughout the Bible we read over and over that we shouldn’t be afraid—that we should fear only God. So that makes it especially interesting when we read that there is something we should be afraid of—something that should make us tremble with fear. What is it? Here’s what the writer of Hebrews wrote: “God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it” (4:1). God holds out to us the gift of rest—the kind of rest only he can provide—and the fact that some of us fail to reach out and take it should cause us to tremble with fear.
Entering God’s rest means being at peace with God, free from real guilt and from feelings of guilt. Entering God’s rest means that our aimless search for the source of truth is over. We’ve found truth in the person of Jesus, and we can be at rest. Entering God’s rest means we surrender our “self-effort” salvation—our attempts to be right with God by our own efforts. God’s rest means being at peace in the grace and provision of God.
Why would anybody not take the gift of rest that God holds out? For most people, the reason is unbelief. Some people simply don’t believe that the rest God offers is as good as God says it is. Some people trust more in their own abilities to create an enjoyable life than they do in God’s promise of a full and unending life. And that’s not just sad; it’s scary.
There’s really only one thing in this world to be afraid of—not trusting God. We should have a healthy fear of what will happen if we see what God is offering to us in himself and then choose not to take it, if we see the door open to rest and refuse to enter in.
DISCUSSION STARTERS
What does God’s rest mean to you? What is your favorite part of resting?
Do you think of coming to God as rest or work? Why?
Why should a person be afraid of not trusting God?
