Refresh: Take a Day of Rest

I have not written a blog in awhile and I wanted to get back to writing with the start of the school year. There is an old story about two men who decided to have a contest to see who could chop down the most trees. They were both strong men who both had a lot of experience and confidence that they would win. The one man went all day thinking that he would be able to win that way. The other man took a break ever so often, rested, and resharpened his ax. The first man thought this was foolish to stop but who do you think won? Well the man who had taken the time to rest and sharpen his ax.

In the bible rest is not a bad word. I think so many times our society and even other people can be pushing us to be like the first man... go, go, go and then you will get everything accomplished. The bible has a lot to say about rest in one word... Sabbath. The word sabbath means rest, ceasing. God took a sabbath after 6 days of creating the world in the creation narrative in Genesis and God continued this tradition in the Israelites with the Sabbath. Exodus 23:12 says, "Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed." In the new testament Jesus says in Mark 2:27, "He said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." You see the sabbath is truly a blessing that God has placed in our lives for us to stop, reflect on God's goodness, rest, and prepare for what may be next.

Work is a good thing and God wants us to work for what we have (2 Thessalonians 3:10) but he does not want us to drive ourselves into the ground. So this week make sure to have a Sabbath. Most likely it will be on Sunday when you come to the house of God, worship his name, and rest in his peace. I hope this week you find rest in God and find strength to do what he has called you to do.

There is a lot more in God's word about the sabbath and I encourage you to explore God's word more about the sabbath.