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Laboring to Enter Rest
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 by CF Sherrow
Categories: Faithfulness of God / inner peace
“Let us therefore labor to enter into that rest…” — Hebrews 4:11 (KJV)
During my many years practicing medicine as a physician assistant, the clinic day was rarely long enough to finish everything expected of me. Now, as a writer and self-employed creative, the deadlines are mostly my own making—blog posts, website updates, revisions, new pieces, webinars, meetings. Argh. Always too much to do, and too little time to rest.
Yet Scripture tells us to labor to enter God’s rest. At first glance, it sounds like an oxymoron. How do you work your way into rest?
Consider this: our earthly labors are the tasks entrusted to us by a loving God who already knows our limits. We are the ones who pile on expectations He never asked us to carry. Perhaps the real labor is the work of laying down our own definitions of productivity—and the fears that drive them.
The fear of not being enough. The fear of failing the roles we hold—wife, mother, friend, writer. The fear of not measuring up, not being perfect, not earning approval. The fear of falling behind while others seem to surge ahead.
Maybe that is the labor: releasing the pressure we place on ourselves so we can receive the rest God freely offers.
God is faithful to show us what to do next when we remember to ask. Sometimes His instruction is surprisingly simple: Take a walk. Even when the work is stacked in front of us and our minds feel tangled. And when we obey, clarity returns. Our thoughts settle. Our productivity rises—not because we pushed harder, but because we entered His rest in the middle of our work, not at the end of it.
Rest is not the reward for finishing. Rest is the posture that lets us hear Him while we work.
Lord, teach us to rest in You—always.
CF Sherrow
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