Restful not restless

 

There are a LOT of self-help books and podcasts out there . . . people claiming to know just how you should live our lives. How to organize our closets. How to organize our whole house! How to have efficient cleaning days. How to cultivate good habits. How to have better sleep. How to have more friends. How to excel in the workplace. How to be less tired. How to have more energy.

How are our lives? Do we need more rest, more energy?

God established the concept of our lives being rest-full. 

He established a rhythm for our lives - balancing rest and work. We've said before that He had a purpose in establishing a Sabbath day . . . it was a day that (if we observe it properly) can provide us several types of rest.

Let's think about the children of Israel. We noted before that when they heard the commandment about the seventh day, their minds would return to the creation of the world; they would remember that God rested on the seventh day from the work of creation. 

And lest we think that our modern days are so different from the days of the Jewish nation . . . . yes, the children of Israel needed the reminder. They'd lived in Egypt for generations as slaves; they toiled as close to 24/7 as their supervisors could make it. They were treated as production machines. The idea of a seventh day rest was simply that; it was just an idea. It's practice was all but forgotten. But God did not intend for them to forget:

Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 5:15)

Are we any different today? Many people find it impossible to take a day to rest. They constantly carry their phones in their pockets or their hands. They are aware when text messages arrive; they know the instant that the email from that important client hits their inbox. They are always absorbed in working, working, working, just about 24/7.

The idea of resting on the seventh day was also presented to the children of Israel in the providing of manna. They were to gather manna on six days only - He promised that what they gathered on the sixth day would be sufficient for the day of rest. That day was a continuing gift to them. God promises us, too, that He will provide for our needs -- our food, our clothing, all that we need.

Since in the land they lived in, only they (Israel) treated the seventh day in this way, the concept of rest was also a sign to the rest of the nations that Israel was different. They were God's special people, and they belonged to Him. It was to be intentional. It was counter to the prevailing culture. And it will be so today, when we set aside a day to rest.  Many years later, Jesus would tell the Jewish people that the rest from work allowed for doing the work and ministry of the temple. (Check out the twelfth chapter of Matthew....) It can be a day for doing deeds of mercy and compassion. It can be a day of serving in ways that we do not serve during the rest of the week. It can be a day that we are intentional about extending God's mercy to others.

Oh! While we're at it, let's be clear about this: God did not designate Saturday or Sunday; He declared a seventh day. In fact, the word "sabbath" means intermission, or break. The Jewish people followed God's pattern by making the literal 7th day the Sabbath (Saturday). Christians moved it to Sunday, the first day of the week, in honor and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. One "certain" day is not binding, but "a" day is. And when we understand that God did not rest because He was tired, but because He was satisfied that all was "good," we can understand how we should observe the rest day. 

God took time to enjoy what he had made.

So should we.

We enter into God's rest by enjoying and celebrating Him and what He has done for us. It's to be a day of worship and also one of celebration. God has brought us out of slavery to sin - into a life of grace. That's a real reason to worship God and celebrate His love for us! We can take a day to cease working and the world will go on without us just fine! God can be trusted to run the world without us. (Grin)

If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
    from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the sabbath a delight
    and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
    serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs;
 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
    and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,
    for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 58:13-14)