REST IS NOT JUST FOR THE WEAK

"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then 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


It had been an eventful six days.  First there was nothing, then before we knew it, there was a sky, oceans, land, birds, trees, and finally...humans were sighted.  Oh, sweet humanity.  Made in God's image.

It was a lot of work, but God got it done in record time and with an insane amount of creativity.  In His perfection, even God knew it was time to take a rest break. There could have been a whole host of reasons for this.  Perhaps He wanted to have a break, joke around with the angels, kick up and watch a good football game of the Wings vs the Halos.  Or maybe He knew He wanted to role model for us what would be best for us - to take a break and refresh ourselves when we needed it.   But no matter why, He RESTED.

Jesus not only modeled rest for us in The New Testament but also even instructed his disciples to rest:

"The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves."- Mark 6:30-32

The point is, whether we have time for it or not, we need to make time to rest.  We need it to renew our strength, mind, and spirit.  We need time to heal, time to reflect, time to think.  God knows the importance of it, and it is written about time after time in the Bible.

We cannot use the excuse that we are too busy.  God created the world for goodness sakes but still took time to rest.  Jesus was in the midst of a very active ministry where there was much to do in very little time, but he still modeled rest.

Today, let us find time to rest.  MAKE TIME to rest.  Some days, all I can manage is locking myself in the bathroom and breathing for a few minutes before getting back into the grind.  Other days, I am blessed to have the chance to leave the kids home with my husband and go to the local bookstore and read.  As someone who grew up an only child, being alone rejuvenates me.  Others may want to hit up a coffee shop with a friend and enjoy a beautiful conversation over a café mocha.  One of my friends has a glass of wine while enjoying a bath.  There might be a toy truck near the lit candle next to her tub, but that is easy to smile at when you are able to just sit for a minute without little ones asking for everything on the planet in your ears.  Everyone is different and will find her rest in different ways.  But no matter how we do it, we must rest.

We are made in God's image, and if He made rest a priority, then we must do so also.  
What is your plan for rest today?

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