September 28 | Hebrews 3:16-4:11

Elaine Pierce
Sep 28, 2025
2 min read

DAILY READING

REFLECTION

Godly Rest

By Elaine Pierce

Anyone who has struggled to put a toddler down for a nap knows how frustrating it can be. "I'm not tired! I don't want to take a nap! You can't make me!" Those words sound familiar if you are in the throes of parenting young children (or, in my case, watching grandchildren from time to time). Children often resist rest. They rub their eyes....try to hide yawns....deny their need for sleep...but, usually, after some gentle persuasion, a successful nap - or bedtime - is achieved.

Today's passage focuses on rest, God's eternal rest. As I read this passage and I think about the disobedient Israelites who refused to follow God and wandered in the desert for 40 years, I am struck by how much I am like them. Yes, I want the Sabbath rest that only comes from Jesus, but I want it when it is convenient for me. The writer of Hebrews encourages us to focus on our Creator:

There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his (Hebrews 3:9-10.

God sets the standard for rest. He rested on the seventh day. He created us, and he knows that we need rest. This Godly rest isn't the same as a toddler's nap, or crashing on the couch with the remote in one hand. God's rest is spiritual. God's rest requires us to trust that God will provide. God's rest has regular rhythm (corporate worship is every week). God's rest is a gift, freely given, for the people of God to more fully do kingdom work for his glory.

Yes, we need sleep, even when we resist it. But much more than that, we need to enter God's rest. What joy it is to receive this gift.

PRAYER

Lord, so often I plow ahead, not stopping to rest. I am just like the stubborn Israelites. Help me each day to lay my burdens at your feet, and to rest in the love that only you can provide. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ELAINE PIERCE

It is a delight and joy to write Sunday's UALC Blog post. I have been a UALC member for 20+ years and I value our community of believers. I draw strength from God's Word, and it is my hope that you join me in seeking to grow closer to Him as we read, study, and pray together. I've been married to Gene for 47 years, and we have four grown children and nine grandchildren. It is an exciting time to be alive, and I count it all joy to serve him, even in the midst of challenges. To God be the glory, for the great things he is doing!