The Partnership Between Faith and Rest
Being at rest does not mean we do not fight the good fight of faith. It simply means we have persisted in our faith and are at peace about the situation. We know that what we have prayed for is a done deal and it’s just a matter of time before we see our answer materialize. Faith is always accompanied by an attitude of rest. When we truly believe that God has answered us and that what we asked for is already accomplished in the Spirit, we can rest from any striving or trying to make our answer happen on our own. We fully trust in His provision, and because of that, we are willing to wait on His timing. We do not give in to fear or anxiety. We know we do not need to earn His answer, and we know it is coming. We simply need to rest in His goodness and grace.
When we are believing and standing in faith for something, we experience what is called a “rest for the people of God” (Heb. 4:9). This rest is not weak or passive. David actually tells us that resting or waiting for God is a stance of strength and courage: “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (Ps. 27:14). The ability to rest in the promises of God is a powerful statement of our faith. This is why rest is one of our greatest weapons against the enemy. Rest says, “I believe God and I’m worshipping Him and I’m standing firm.” Unlike the Israelites who lost out on the promise of God and died in the wilderness, when we choose faith, we enter God’s rest: “Now we who have believed enter that rest” (Heb. 4:3). We let go of striving, we let go of fear, and we place our trust fully in His promises. Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
In a nutshell, perseverance in faith means stepping behind the shield of God’s Word and taking refuge in His promises, no matter what may be happening in the natural. This is what we must do if we want to experience the answers to our prayers of faith. We must keep our eyes on Jesus and the joy of answered prayer that is before us. We must refuse to be distracted or shaken. If we will maintain our confession of faith in God’s Word, He will lead us to our table of provision and blessing, where we will feast on His goodness and the joy of promises fulfilled.