Do you find it hard to rest with so many things on your to-do list? What three words come to mind when you think of rest? For many of us (me included), one word is unproductive.
With daily demands and modern technology, we’re finding it harder to pull away and actually achieve replenishing rest. While most world religions call for a day of rest, much of the world charges full speed ahead.
After 400 years of slavery, God gave His people a new command: rest. A concept as foreign to them as it is to many of us. Nevertheless, rest remains a part of the Architect’s original design. After all, upon completion of creation, God rested.
If Scripture says God never grows tired or weary, why would He have needed rest? Without doubt, I believe, in part, because a Good Father leads by example.
God knew our tendency to become slaves to work and answer the call of busyness while sending His call for connection to voicemail. With the rise of busyness, we’re reaping havoc on our mental, emotional, and physical bodies. Stress levels are on the rise, heart disease is growing, and immune systems are declining.
But there remains a Sabbath-rest for the children of God. This week, let’s pause to find rest in God as we heal, renew, and rejuvenate.
Key Verse: The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14
- Monday – In Exodus 16:29, God reminded Moses, “Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath.” The Sabbath day of rest remains a blessed gift for us, holy and set apart. Whether it’s Sunday or another day of the week, do you regularly “open” this gift?
- 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. Genesis 2:2-3
- Tuesday – The weight of caring for children, working, housekeeping, ministry, and everything in between makes it extremely hard to passionately pursue a peaceful pause. As you read today’s verse, listen to your Savior’s tender beckon to get away from the world and find rest in the quiet stillness of His presence.
- Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, “Come away with me to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31
- Wednesday – Rest isn’t just a state of being, but a posture of the heart. His promise of rest extends beyond the physical limits of work to the deep weariness of carrying our own burdens. Where do you need to lay down a burden in order to experience a heart posture of rest? With eyes closed, picture yourself laying the heaviness at His feet.
- Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
- Thursday – Rest is a form of trust. In committing to set aside one day each week for rest, we are saying we trust that God can do more with our six days of work than we can do with seven. How can you make every effort to enter this rest and guard this time?
- There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rest from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest… Hebrews 4:9-11
- Friday – True soul replenishing rest comes from God alone. With counterfeits like Netflix binging and social media perusing, we can drown out God’s gentle whisper inviting us to experience true renewal. As you enter the weekend, be mindful of the counterfeit “rest” you gravitate towards and seek to replace it with God alone.
- My soul finds rest in God alone; my hope comes from Him. Psalm 62:5
May these verses serve as a reminder that the gift of the Sabbath is for your good. I’ll see you back here next week, renewed and refreshed!
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