“Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it.”

The psalmist (Psalm 95) is obviously not talking about the Sabbath. That was a form of rest enjoined upon the Hebrews but was not the rest that our writer or the psalm writer are discussing. Their suggested rest goes back to the seventh day of creation. That rest, we are assured, still remains. In the very beginning, God established a rest for His people, and it is still within sight.

The danger viewed by the Hebrews writer is that those who live in the now but yet to be age will fail to get there. He has made the possibility real, showing us why the former Israel failed to enter in. In their case, it was illustrated by their refusal to cross the river and take the land God was giving them. But, whether we are talking about Canaan or Heaven as the resting place, the danger of missing out is the same. What kept them out of the land of Canaan will keep us out of Heaven.

Remember the old song, “Everybody Talking About Heaven Ain’t Going There,”? I’m sure there was a lot of conversation about living in the promised land prior to the return of the spies. Once the report of giants was released, the conversation switched. God was still the same God, but they did not trust Him to keep His word.

Task for Today: This kind of fear is healthy. Be fearful enough of missing out that you turn from your own plans and abilities and rely on God. Believe that He is God and that He rewards those who trust Him. Trust Him with your soul.