“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 20:11
I’m not great at rest. Never have been. My mom used to tell me, “Joshy, I swear you’re the poster-child for Ritalin,” and that was before any of us even knew what Ritalin was. I’ll admit, I certainly was an ‘active’ child. And now I’m an active adult. Many of us in our broader SFC community are Western-world, action-sports enthusiasts who were brought up by a culture of hurry and productivity. And for active folks like us, rest doesn’t always come naturally.
Why is rest so hard?! Why can I never find time for it?! Why is our culture notably bad at one of God’s original commandments?! Easy there, Junior. One question at a time.
There are piles and piles of books on the subject of God’s rest. I’m currently speed-reading two of them simultaneously. And I wish I was joking. Most focus on the importance of God’s command for us to rest through His regular rhythm of Sabbath. God literally did it Himself and commanded His people to do it likewise. He designed us to need rest for rest-oration. Think about it; our bodies physically shut down completely for at least a third of each day. Sleep is a funny thing that will chase you down if you try to run from it. Rest is essential. We need it both physically and spiritually.
In all of the Biblical celebrations that God commanded His people to observe, Rest is a big part of each one. People have always been busy, and needed to set aside an extended break from their business-as-usual. Because business-as-usual always takes over if we’re not careful. I tell my friends, “I can never FIND time for anything anymore, so I have to intentionally MAKE TIME or it’ll never happen.” That’s what God wanted. We have to be proactive and MAKE TIME for regular rest that is both God-focused and restorative for our souls. Or as we know, life tends to get off-track real fast.
Next week SFC is holding our 26-year Celebration; an extended, relaxed time of rest, remembering and rejoicing. If you can’t make it to Colorado to join us, we want to challenge you to make your own time of restorative, God-focused rest happen. Because in an age of glorifying the hyper-advanced pace of life, we all need to remember to rest from our normally chaotic lives to restore our bodies (and souls) together in celebration of what God has done.
Challenge
- Pick at least one time a week to set aside intentional time to spend in rest and rejuvenation. Make it a habit.
- Read Matthew 11:28-30 and meditate on how you can rest in Jesus.
By Joshua Stock | Copper, CO