"Thou wilt keep
him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee:
because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26: 3)
When I first read this verse, I did not what it meant to "stay" one's mind. I became convinced that it was up to me to "stay" my mind. So, I spent much of my days thinking about God, straining to keep my thoughts from wandering.
The life of the mind in inner turmoil is not worth living.
Later on, I did a word study on "stay", which is "samack" or "rest" in Hebrews.
One of the first times when the word "samack" is used refers to the time when an offerer rests his hand on the head of the animal that he is going to sacrifice.
"And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be
accepted for him to make atonement for him." (Leviticus1: 4)
This verse clearly connects how laying one's hand on the head of the sacrifice communicates that the animal is taking the sin of the offerer away. "Put" renders the word "samack", yet the more accurate translation reads "rest his hand". Our resting on Jesus is not something that we do, but rather something that we receive
The animal sacrifice is a picture of Jesus Christ dying on the Cross, the Finished Work which testifies of God's unconditional love for us. Jude writes that we are to keep ourselves in the love of God by believing on what he has done and praying in the Spirit (Jude 21).
The Devil's only trick left is to get us out of the rest which we receive through the Finished Work of Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews tell us what to do:
"Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the
same example of unbelief. " (Hebrews 4: 11)
Our one job is to believe on Him, rest in Him, whom God the Father sent (John 6: 29). That all our sins are forgiven, that is what we rest our minds on.
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