There is a place of perfect rest, near to the heart of God. Yes, a place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God. But just how do we get there, or even find this place of perfect rest?
I would say, like the Samaritan woman at the well, I was seeking things that could not satisfy. I was suffering, but could not admit. I didn’t know where to seek refuge. For long, I sought the place of perfect rest, and finally, I found it. In my quest, I have learnt a number of lessons, which I am morally obliged to share with the world. It is an act of courtesy to share them, for He that has taught me these lessons, taught me not without a reason.
One thing that everybody needs to realize is that being a sinner is not anyone’s fault. Who has not sinned anyway? No one. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”—Romans 3:23. Everyone has sinned, but sinning does not declare someone a sinner, for one decision or action does not define who we are. Yea, in Swahili we say, ‘Kosa si kosa, kosa ni kurudia kosa.’ –A mistake is not a mistake unless repeated. Repeated sinning declares one a sinner, but that does not mean it is one’s fault.
No, sin was brought by one man into the world; the devil. Therefore, however sinful you are, all you need to realize is that, “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” –Romans 5:20.
My sins tortured me for years. It is in my heart that sin abounded, and it took me so long to realize that grace abounded much more in my heart. My friends, sin can torture you. Sin can enslave you, lead you to do things that are against the will of your heart. Sin can make you admire the real you, or even totally forget the person you are meant to be.
Sin declares you a sinner and a complete subject of the body, not ruled with the mind or the heart. Sin can disharmonize your mind, body and heart and lead them to function independent of each other, in which case you may not even know why you do the things you do.
You know, there is no rest in a state of sinfulness. However much a sinner may seem comfortable in his/her sins, there is always some restlessness, however little, at the bottom of the heart. No, there is no peace in sin. There is no rest either, in a state of sinfulness. That is why in sin, we do things that we may later live to regret our entire lives. That is why in sin, we do things that in the long run hurt our own bodies. That is why in sin, we do things that are against our own will. Truly, sin is an enslaver, and there is neither rest nor peace in a state of sinfulness.
Sadly, sin even keeps our prayers from reaching the Creator. “But your inequities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”—Isaiah 59:2. If our sins can separate us from God, and hide His face from us, then indeed there is no joy in sin.
Like a concrete wall, sin blocks our prayers from reaching God. So, when we go before God in a state of sinfulness, thanking Him for the good things in our lives, and asking Him to provide us with more, while forgetting the sins we have committed, it’s like we are trying to fool God, and how can such prayers really reach Him?
When clothed in sin and filth, God doesn’t need to hear our ‘Thank you Lord for everything’. No, He is not willing to hear all those things we are prepared to ask Him to give or do for us. Can you imagine when somebody wrongs you or hurts you so much and then the next time you meet them, the first thing they tell you is not ‘sorry for what I did’, but ‘please help me do this or that’.
I’m sure you will assume this person and pretend like they never said anything at all. You may even never speak to them again. But God, being the Creator and of great love, does not shun a sinner forever, but gives them time to realize and recognize that they are a sinner.
Remember the two men who went up into the temple, a Pharisee and a Publican? The Pharisee thanked God for many things including him not being a Publican, while the Publican cried unto the Lord, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Christ says, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.”—Luke 18:10-14.
When justification is what we seek, there is no point in exalting ourselves before God as the Pharisee did. Justification is not by works, nor by might, nor by obedience of the law, but by the Grace of God. No one deserves cleansing from God, but it is just by His grace that He cleanses sinners. That is why we need to go before God to seek or request for that grace with humility, not to claim it.
When dead in sin, God is saddened by the tribulations we undergo and the slavery we are under. Since man had chosen to yield to his own will, by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and bad, God cannot intervene when we choose sin, rather than obedience. However, God is longsuffering that someday the sinner may choose obedience over disobedience. God is really waiting for the day when the sinner declares themselves before the Lord as a sinner, and says, ‘Forgive me Lord, I am a sinner.’ Truly, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” —1 John 1:9.
The place of perfect rest is not very far off after we have confessed our sins. When we are relieved of the sins that enslave us, we become free and therefore it is easier to talk to God and tell Him all our needs. There is no joy better than that of a person free from the bondage of sin.
That place of perfect rest, that place near the heart of God, is at the feet of Jesus Christ. Yes, living in perfect communion with your savior, when at peace with the Creator, that is the place of perfect rest. Now you know how to get to the place of perfect rest, you don’t need any portions to get there. You just need to go before God, ask for His mercy and declare to Him that you are a sinner in need of grace, indeed He is merciful, He will grant you grace, He will give you freedom, peace and rest.
