261. Rest, Ease, No Fear
Jeremiah 46:27 But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.
The common admonition, “Fear not,” is given because of the promise that God will save. “I am with you to save you, so you have nothing to fear.” God promises to save us no matter how far off we feel like we are from God and His “Land;” He will save us from captivity to the Enemies of the soul. The people of God will return to God and to the Kingdom, where they belong. Salvation always involves being saved from one thing and then to another Salvation brings us from far off to being near; salvation is from captivity to freedom; salvation is from fear to safety; salvation is ultimately from death to life.
This promise came true for the Jews in Exile, and it is spiritually and eternally true for all believers in Christ our Savior. Jesus has saved us, and He will continue to save us every day for the rest of eternity. This salvation applies to our present situation, whatever it is: we are saved from a specific sin and guilt to forgiveness. Whenever we are convicted of sin or a sin we confess specifically and believe the gospel. We are saved from eternal death to eternal life. We suffer many “little deaths” while we live: sickness, injury, hurt feelings, loss of anything, worry, anxiety, even boredom, and many other issues that rob us of enjoying life abundantly. He saves us from the evil of it. Whatever “diminishing of life” we suffer reminds us to repent and believe the gospel. We are saved from the spiritual lies and attacks of the devil to the freedom of truth and life with God. We don’t always see what Satan is doing, but we can remember that he is probably behind most of the ill feelings we endure mentally and emotionally and sometimes physically. When we repent and believe the gospel the devil must flee. God promises it.
God promises that we shall be in rest and at ease. Humans devise many, many ways and means to find rest and ease: food, drink, drugs, money, comforts, vacations, and so much more. But God promises the rest and ease we seek. This rest and ease comes from being in Christ by faith. So we pray, “Thy kingdom come.”