Waiting for something to [maybe] happen is a lot different from knowing that it has already happened.
When we're waiting for something, there's a chance that it won't actually happen. Like Schrodinger's Cat, we can't really see the future.
Or can we? What if the future is already the past? Isn't that what Solomon was saying in Ecclesiastes?
'That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.
Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new?" Already it has existed for ages Which were before us. There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, there will be for them no remembrance among those who will come later still.' [Ecclesiastes 1:9-11]
'That which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.' [Ecclesiastes 3:15]
'Whatever exists has already been named...' [Ecclesiastes 6:10]
Solomon had great wisdom—I think he saw glimpses of eternity but could not really grasp what he was seeing. I think, and this is just my opinion, that he was seeing the truth that God's works were finished from the foundation of the world and that God has already rested from those works. [Hebrews 4:3,10]
In fact, I think he was probably the first quantum physicist! Followed, of course, by Jesus, Who manipulated time and space and physical reality as easily as He breathed.
But Solomon did not understand the New Birth fact that we are full of God and that we dwell in two places—on the earth and seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I think he saw something but didn’t know exactly what it was.
What?
Psalm 119:89 says that God's Word is settled forever...Isaiah 40:8 says it stands forever. And 2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us that all the promises of God are YES in Him!
Psalm 119:89 says that God's Word is settled forever...Isaiah 40:8 says it stands forever. And 2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us that all the promises of God are YES in Him!
God declared that His Word will not return to Him without 1) accomplishing what He desires and 2) succeeding in the matter for which He sent it [Isaiah 55:11]. Jeremiah 1:12 says He watches over His Word to perform it.
But Hebrews says He's done! Here we have a quantum conundrum...things are already finished but still happening.
That's because, in the Spirit, there is no time...it is already finished. But here, in the physical plane, we are prisoners of linear time, set in motion by the rotation of the earth. Day and night come and go, and come and go again...the body ages, children grow, we live and die.
His Word was sent to accomplish His desire in the earth...although in Heaven, it is already finished. Jesus taught us to pray "Your will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven..." [Matthew 6, Luke 11]
Great News
While this may be a bit of a brain scrambler, it's really very good news for those who believe.
While this may be a bit of a brain scrambler, it's really very good news for those who believe.
If every promise is YES in Him and we are redeemed from the curse of the law [Galatians 3:13], and if His Word is not only settled forever but already finished, for and about us, then WOW! We're no longer waiting for things to [maybe] happen, they're already finished! When we look at the unseen, the forever-settled-already-accomplished Word of God, we can move to a place of peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Why? Because joy is a result of answered prayer, and our prayers are already answered! [John 15:11]
Hallelujah!!
Believe You Receive
This is how we can believe we receive when we pray, how we can make our requests known with thanksgiving. Philippians 4 puts it this way:
This is how we can believe we receive when we pray, how we can make our requests known with thanksgiving. Philippians 4 puts it this way:
'Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH THANKSGIVING let your requests be made known to God.And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.' [Philippians 4:4-9]
Hebrews 4 says that God has rested from His finished works, but entreats us to be diligent to enter His rest.
What does that mean, exactly?
God's works are indeed finished from the foundation of the world, but ours are not...not until we accept His works as done in our lives through faith.
Hebrews 3, 4 tells why Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years—no, it was NOT God's will that they have a wilderness experience!
It was because of unbelief.
'And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?'So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.' [Hebrews 3:17-19]For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.'For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, "AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST," although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.' [Hebrews 4:2,3]
We enter into His finished works, His rest, by uniting the Word with faith!
For example, God has said "By His scourging you are healed" [Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24]. That was a work, finished not only at Calvary but when the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world [Revelation 13:8]. It was finished in the natural at Calvary, but in the Spirit it was done before the foundation of the world!
So our healing is already finished, already accomplished. But unless we unite that word with faith, we will not enter the rest of the finished work of healing.
In other words, God has already done His part.
'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.' [Ephesians 1:3,4]
ExamplesThe Old Covenant has a lot to teach on this subject. When Israel and Judah believed God's word—united it with faith—they had rest and peace. When they did not, they had war and captivity.
God had already blessed them in His covenant with Abraham, but when they did not unite the blessing with faith as a nation, they fell out of His rest, so to speak, even though their rest was settled forever!
Okay, Now What?
So, God's works are already finished FOR YOU. He is at rest.
So, God's works are already finished FOR YOU. He is at rest.
How do you enter into that rest? If Hebrews 4 tells us to be diligent to enter His rest, we must be able to do so.
Unite the forever-settled Word with your faith. Believe that every promise is for you in Christ [2 Corinthians 1:20] and that they are finished, accomplished facts. Then unite it with faith—see it, believe it, say it. See the unseen, believe God's word over temporary circumstances.
Enter His rest.
Related posts: That Which Has Been Will Be, Already Blessed, God Inside, Stop Begging—It's Inside, Camping in the Desert, Enter His Rest Today, Waiting for God...in fact, all of them!
