So I did a little experiment recently. Only I didn’t realize
I was doing it at the time. I’m now writing my hypothesis—I’m sure I’ll nail
it. You want to know what it is? Okay:
If I give up my day of rest, then I will implode
spiritually, mentally and physically.
I don’t even need to check the data. Trust me. That
hypothesis is right on.
And that’s because God created rest for us, and any time we
are operating outside of how He designed us to work, well, things don’t go so
well.
See, I go back to Genesis. We all know God rested on the
seventh day, and it was not because He had too—He’s God, He doesn’t get tired. In
fact, the Bible’s quite clear on this. Isaiah 40:28 says “Do you not know? Have
you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the earth. He
will not grow tired or weary…”
So why the day of rest?
Because it was all part of His good and perfect plan—and He
demonstrated that plan for us when on the seventh day, He sat back. Enjoyed.
Rested. He didn’t make lists. Didn’t worry about what He hadn’t finished and
what was yet to come. He “rested from all his work.” (Genesis 2:2)
All we had to do was follow His plan for creation. Only we
thought we knew better and sin entered this world, messing things up big time.
Satan is still trying to mess things up today. Busyness is
an awful addiction. We live in a day and age where information literally is at
our fingertips. We are like Pavlovian dogs; when our phones beep for a new text
or email, we grab them. We cannot seem to shut ourselves off. And we feel
guilty when we try.
But God asked us to. It was all part of His creation, His
plan for us. Not only did He create a day of rest, but He blessed it. Now, I
don’t know about you, but wherever God’s blessing is, that’s where I want to
be.
So I’m taking back my day of rest. It will take some
planning, but it can be done. And here's the new hypothesis I'm testing:
If I reclaim my day of rest, then I'll be recharged spiritually, mentally, and physically.
I think I'll enjoy testing this one much, much more:)
How about you? Do you take one day a week for rest? Or, like
me, is it a hard habit to maintain?
LOVE this! I NEED my rest, or I am one crabby momma! And there is a clear difference in being lazy, and resting. I try to make sure that I take some time to rest every day, otherwise I start to get resentful, and play the whole "what about me?" game -- which isn't pretty, lol. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI'm all for being "recharged"! :D
Have a blessed week, Susan!
So true Michelle! :) And I can play that same game, especially when I'm tired. It's a clue for me to shut things off and enjoy some quiet.
ReplyDeleteI just came back from a vacation where the last 3 days we planted ourselves on a beach. I enjoyed the rest and relaxation.
ReplyDeleteIn my real life I work every other weekend. Basically I work 12 days and get 2 days off. They are not all long days, but it is 12 days in a row.
Some weeks I try to rest on Monday afternoons because Monday is my short day.
You kinda put the exclamation point on my thoughts coming back from vacation. I do need to find time to rest.
Thanks for sharing.
Have a great week!
Jackie
This is a great reminder, and one I need to take to heart. When you take care of family and work from home, the days can easily blur together and become chaotic. I'm with you in planning a time for rest. :-)
ReplyDelete