Good Morning My Friends! Today we get to rest! Doesn’t that sound like an awesome “have to do” for our to-do list?
God Rested, So Can We
God is a very caring God. He knows what’s in our best interest. He knows we need to work, but He knows we also need to rest. Even God rested from His work:
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work” (Genesis 2:2, NIV).
See? God Himself took a break!
He wants us to take a break today. He’s sees all we’re doing, all we’re trying to accomplish. Now, He says, REST! Stop doing, and start resting.
What a great day to rest too. After all it’s Sunday, technically the Sabbath Day.
The Ten Commandments
Consider this, the Lord gave Moses The Ten Commandments and one of those is to rest:
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8, NIV)
God intentionally built “rest” into His instructions for how we are to intentionally live.
Now, I know we don’t all have the same work schedule and some of us actually do have to go to our jobs today. That’s okay. God understands that too, but He still wants you to find some time today to rest.
He also wants you to intentionally choose one of your days off from your job to rest.
Benefits of Rest
There are real benefits to resting our body and mind.
We’re better problem solvers and more creative. We can lose weight faster. Not only that, but those things that burden us and weigh us down, start to lighten. We’ve been intentionally refraining from some of these already for the last two weeks such as fear, worry, and discouragement.
Now a good night of sleep is important, but you should know what just taking a nap can do for you.
Sara C. Mednick, Ph.D., a researcher at the Salk Institute and the leading authority on the study of the nap is the author of Take a Nap! Change Your Life. She says a nap inspires creativity, increases alertness and motor skills, improves memory and clears your mind, and helps you look younger! That’s it! I’m taking a nap today!
Be Still
The benefits are real to rest. God knew what He was doing when He commanded us to rest.
If even for a short while today, you can rest, you’ll be better off for it. I think others around you will benefit from you resting too.
One of my favorite Bible verses is:
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).
So today, I encourage you to be still before the Lord.
Take five minutes and shut down everything. Go into a quiet place, then sit and listen. Tell God, “I’m here to listen.”
Then wait and listen.
I hope the still small voice of God speaks to you and refreshes your soul during those quiet moments. He did mine this morning!
Practical Application
Here are a few other ideas to consider how take a break from your usual hectic schedule and rest today:
- Read a book
- Go for walk
- Spend time with a friend
- Sit and hold a baby 🙂 (that’s what I plan to do today)
- Play a game with your family
- Eat together as a family
- How about this one: take a nap!!!
May the Lord bless you and refresh your mind and body today as you take a break today.
Just for Today
Refrain from Work. Embrace Rest!
Leave a Reply