My Rest
“This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
Today’s Text: Zechariah 13:1-9 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Jesus referenced verse 7 of this prophecy right before He was arrested and said that it would apply to His disciples. Mark 14:27 goes,
“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd; and the sheep will be scattered.’”
In response, the apostle Peter insisted that he would never fall away, even if everyone else did. And that prompted Jesus to tell Peter that he would deny Jesus three times before the sun came up.
But Jesus wasn’t just talking about the scattering of His disciples after His crucifixion. He was also referring to the trials and persecutions that they would have to face for calling on His name after His ascension.
What an incredible blessing (and a relief!) it is that we do not have to suffer the physical and economic persecutions that the first Christians had to face. And yet, every Christian needs to be “put into the fire” so that our faith might be refined.
When we call on the name of Jesus and say, “He is our Lord and our God” (John 20:28), will Jesus say in response, “They are my people?” Or will Jesus say instead, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23)? And what is the rubric by which Jesus would say, either, “This one belongs to Me,” or “I never knew you?”
If we can be really honest with ourselves, Christians (that is, I) struggle with that question because, deep down, we know the answer … and we don’t like it. The rubric is the word of God.
And if we could sift through the entirety of God’s word to find one thesis that explains what it is that God really wants of us, it might be Matthew 6:33 -
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
When we take Jesus’s words to heart and make every effort to live it out, we will find ourselves being “put into the fire.”
But in our free society, that “fire” has less to do with systemic persecution. That “fire” comes more from our own flesh trying to tear us away from being in Christ and the rest that we find in Him when we “seek first” (that is, to make it the top priority of our lives) “His kingdom and His righteousness.”
There is deep rest when we “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.” We could say that, in a way, that is God’s goal for our lives. Because that is Jesus’s invitation to us.
“Come to Me, all you who are wearied and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
— Matthew 11:28-30
Father, You are God, and You have called me to be Your child. And it is Your love, mercy, and grace that makes me Your child. Thank You for Your patience with me. Why do I seek rest in things that might lead me away from You? But change my heart so that I might find my deepest rest in You. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
