Donut Forget to Rest

Mar 2, 2022 | Devotionals

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28

This world is nuts right now. From countless tasks to distraction, whether good or bad, there is always something going on in our day to day lives. If you are anything like me, you probably always need something to do. That’s the A.D.D. in me. From the moment I wake up to the time I go to bed, my mind runs a million miles an hour.

In January I helped SFC at the snow industry convention in Denver as part of the yearly “dunkin donut fellowship.” The first part of the trip was at the tradeshow and the second part of the trip was snowboarding and visiting different SFC chapters in Colorado. The whole trip was early mornings and late nights. Now when I go on a trip, I like to make the most out of my days and jam them full of fun activities. The downside to that tactic is it gets super tiring over time. This is where rest comes to be a key factor.

So what does the bible teach us about rest?  The Bible first mentions rest right at the beginning in Genesis 2:1-3. God completes his creation, and then we read, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.  And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

What exactly does that mean?  Well, it can’t mean that he stopped all involvement with his creation. So rest doesn’t always mean a halt of all activity. It can sometimes refer to taking a break from doing a specific activity. After God chilled for a second, he went back to creating man in Genesis 2.

So, rest! I think there is a biblical version of rest and a human version of rest – both are important.

The biblical version:

  1.   Rest in the Bible is mainly about having a right relationship with God and being reconciled to him. Having that rest that we receive through God is a perfect rest. Something we’ll get all the time in heaven.
  2.   Rest in the Bible isn’t stopping all activity, it’s about taking a break from one thing to focus on another. The Bible is filled with stories of Jesus calling people from one thing to another thing. Before COVID, SFC Spokane was all about doing as much as we could on the mountain. From church to giving out hotdogs at comps, we wanted to do it. Well, COVID botched that and we were left with no events. Ministry never ended though. Slowly God was highlighting all kinds of relationships that He wanted us to feed into. Yeah we weren’t on the hill, but God had a different avenue in mind.

The human version:

  1. Rest helps us recover from our labor. Rest helps us recharge. We can process all the information we’ve received. It helps us give our bodies a break and heal.
  2.  Rest shows our dependence on God. It highlights our limitations and gives us an opportunity to ask God for strength and wisdom.
  3.  Rest encourages us to enjoy God. Rest helps us delight in the goodness of God being God. We get to reflect on all the things that God has done and given us. We get to admire His handiwork.
  4. Rest helps build relationships with others. When we take a break from the hustle and bustle of life, we can focus on our family and friends and feed into those relationships.

In my eyes and in God’s eyes, rest is so beneficial for making us more like Christ.

Challenge

  • What sort of rest do you need right now? Rest to let an injury heal? Rest to let God use you in a new way? 
  • Bring your burdens, your labors, and your busyness to the Lord and ask him for rest. 

By Michael Anwar | Spokane, WA

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