Give it a Rest!

The writer of Genesis said: “..By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done…”

It seemed important enough to God that He rest after a week of work, yet in today’s craziness, most people are so bent on running faster and faster; filling their schedules to the brink of exhaustion and even playing a game of one upping one another to see who can claim rights to being the busiest. We tend to feel lazy and unproductive when we aren’t running, made to feel quite small if stopping to take a nap. So much so, if we slack off from the crazy race we tend to do it on the sly so others will not know we are taking a time of rest. Are we are ashamed of rest?

Do we think of time away from work as a waste; as second class hours? That is not a Biblical principle. ‘Sabbath is God’s antidote to workaholism. It is the checkmate to men and women who have fallen into the trap of believing their personal worth is built upon what they do rather than who they are.’ according to the wisdom of Gordon MacDonald’s book Renewing Your Spiritual Passion. I know most people believe they simply have to cram in all the activities in order to maintain life as they know it. There will always be dishes and laundry to do. No matter how much time you put into it on Saturday or Sunday, there will be more on Monday. We can not say the same about our strength and energy.

The heart, probably the strongest and most resilient of our muscles, is designed to rest between every beat. Most growing things have a period of dormancy every year. Yet we tend to fill as many hours of each day with as many things as possible. A while back I realized I was walking at a crisp pace while talking on the phone because I felt I wasn’t wasting time just talking and visiting with people. How sad is that? Then, I decided to purposely walk while talking because I was adding to the number of steps I take each day in my efforts to increase my physical stamina. It was a habit developed out of guilty feelings of wasting time that I turned into part of my health regime. I’ve done it for so long now that rare is the time I can actually sit down and talk on the phone at the same time. Birthed from guilt to a positive purpose is good but it is incredibly sad to think that time visiting with friends or family is wasted time. I’m confident that was never God’s plan for relationships! Nor was staying so busy we do not take time to rest. He was the role model for what should be our actions and habits.

I had a doctor tell me once that I did not really rest even when I rested. My mind stayed busy, my body stayed tense, my rest never felt recuperative and I was paying the high toll it had taken on me. I now make time for quiet and rest. No TV or radio to fill the airwaves with noise. No books or internet to fill my head with an endless parade of things to think about are allowed either. I require a certain amount of alone, quiet time for maximum sanity. I feel the drain on my body and spirit when I am deprived of that time. Yes, the spirit within is directly affected by the activities and busyness of the outside. If we are not taking time to rest and renew our bodies and mind are we really taking the time to renew our spirits? Probably not. Can ‘crash and burn’ be far behind with we deplete our physical, mental and spiritual resources?

May you rest in the Lord and be filled with all the goodness that comes from following the example our heavenly Father set for us. May your bodies be strengthened, walking upright in vigor and purpose in providing for your family. May your mind be set at ease and be filled with the peace that only our Lord can bring. May your days be fruitful and your labor rewarded. May you take diligent care of the body, the Lord’s temple, with which you are guardian over while walking this earth. May you use wisdom in all your choices and directions, seeking the Lord for wisdom and His will to be done. All this and more I pray for you and me alike. Rest in the Lord, Friend.