“Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience…” —Hebrews 4:6 (ESV)
The epistle to the Hebrews reminds us that God’s promises are not abandoned relics of the past—but invitations that are still open. There remains a rest for the people of God. The door has not closed. The future, for those in Christ, is not a threat, but a place of peace and rest because God is already there.
Yet this rest is not received by default. The good news once proclaimed to Israel did not benefit them, we’re told, because it wasn’t united by faith. The promised future was forfeited—not because the promise faded, but because obedience faltered. The lesson is sobering: grace is offered, but it is never forced.

What does it mean to receive grace for the future? It means we live today with tomorrow’s hope in view. We act in trust, we speak in faith, we yield in humility—not as an effort to earn rest, but as a response to the One who promises it still. Christ’s blood is the cost of the gift God has offered to us. Our faith in that sacrifice is our acceptance. Our obedience is the natural outcropping of grace and faith coming together. Without grace there would be no need for faith – and if one does not believe then they will not obey anyway.
To live in grace is to walk forward in confidence, not because we’re flawless, but because God is faithful. And when our hearts fear what’s ahead—unseen outcomes, prayers that are answered in unexpected ways, untraveled roads—we are reminded that rest is not a location, but a Person. It recalls the opening line of Psalm 90, “Lord through the generations you have been our dwelling place.” As one other translation puts it, “Lord through the ages you have been our home.” Home is a place where we should find peace and rest. In the present age, that “rest” is a person – Jesus is our Sabbath! He is the future we walk toward, the peace we long for, and the grace that holds the door open.
Let us not harden our hearts like those before us. Let us enter while we still may—not rushing in triumph, but walking by faith, step by gracious step. When we stumble, may we get back up. When others trip around us, may we help them back up. Whatever we may face, and whenever we may face it, let’s keep moving forward.