by Kayla Kennada
Is It From the Bible?
The phrase ‘rest in peace’ (RIP) has been around for years. I became curious about it, and love to research, so I looked it up. Did you know it came from the Latin phrase “requiescat in pace”? It became widely used in the 19th century on headstones and in numerous eulogies. It’s also found in several comments on social media posts when a person’s passing is announced. It may not be scriptural to say this when someone departs this life, but I did find a verse that substantiates it. Isaiah 57:2 states that “Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death”.
Resting On This Side Of The Grass
What is scriptural is that we need to rest in Jesus here and now while we’re on this side of the grass. He brings us peace when we trust in Him and know that His Word is true. Hebrews 4:10-11 states “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief”.
Why We Fail To Enter The Rest
We fail to enter into His rest because of our unbelief. 1 Corinthians 15:57 says that we have the victory over our adverse circumstances through Christ Jesus. But when we don’t believe the Bible it places us in an uneasy and worrisome mode. We worry about the non-victorious outcome from what’s happening in our lives. The thing is that when we do believe the Word, then we will have the victorious outcome.
It would seem to me that believing the Word would be easier. However, the circumstances are what we can physically see, and therefore appear more real than the Word which we cannot see. That word “appears” can be deceiving. Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. It gives the impression that it is so when it is not so.
It’s Not What You Think
I recently heard a message by Joel Osteen. He said “It’s not what you think.” He told how Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him because he was their father’s favorite son. So they sold him to men who took him to Egypt. This story is in Genesis chapters 37–50. The brothers took his coat of many colors that his father had given him and smeared goat’s blood on it. They presented it to their father, Jacob, so he would believe Joseph was dead. Their father mourned Joseph for twenty-two years before learning the truth. His son had become the prime minister of Egypt. It was false evidence appearing real. It wasn’t what he had thought.
Walking By Faith
That is why we must labor to enter into rest. This labor means to train our mind to believe the Word (Romans 12:2). When we believe the Word, then we know that we have the victory over the negative circumstances. This is how we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Faith means that we don’t go by what we see. We go by what we know to be true according to the Word whether we see it at the moment or not.
In John 20, the disciple, Thomas, didn’t believe Jesus had appeared after his death on the cross. Thomas told his fellow disciples that he wouldn’t believe unless he touched the scars in Jesus’ hands and on his side. Jesus appeared to Thomas in verse 27. He told Thomas “Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” In verse 29 He continued: “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Again, we are to walk by faith.
Faith Goes Beyond What We Can See
Hebrews 11:1 NLT describes faith this way: “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” And I love this version of faith by the Mirror Study Bible. “Persuasion confirms confident expectation and proves the unseen world to be more real than the seen. Faith celebrates as certain what hope visualizes as future.” In summary, faith doesn’t believe what is in the natural realm that doesn’t line up with the Word. Faith believes what it can’t see. It sees what is in the spiritual realm, which lines up with the Word. It’s only a matter of time before it manifests in physical form. Everything begins in the spirit realm first and then becomes tangible in the physical world.
This is what it means to “Fight the good fight of the faith (1 Timothy 6:12).” We must continually tell ourselves what the Word says about our situations. For example, if our body has pain then we speak, believe, and receive what the Word says about it. We were healed by the stripes of Jesus (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24). God sent His Word and healed us of all disease (Psalm 107:20). No weapon formed against us shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). We stand on this until we see it come to pass (Ephesians 6:13).
Fighting The Good Fight Of Faith
When Paul was nearing the end of his life, he said “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” in 2 Timothy 4:7. This is all we need to do to enter into the rest God has prepared for us. We only need to believe that Jesus has taken care of everything for us. He said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to “cast all your cares on him [Jesus], because he cares for you”.
Jesus said in Mark 6:5 that he could not heal anyone or perform any miracles because of their unbelief. But in Mark 5:34, Luke 17:19, and Matthew 9:22 Jesus told those He healed “your faith has made you whole.” Faith will bring you rest. Rest will bring you peace of mind. We can rest and be in peace now as well as in our after-life. May you rest in peace.
For more inspiration from Kayla visit her Power & Praise page: https://www.facebook.com/Kayla4God