It's Me Again God

8. Rest

It's me again God,

Today I was reminded of how important it is to rest and get enough sleep. You have made our bodies so amazing but we do need to stop and rest if we are to function at our best. Rest is so important that you have given us instructions on how to look after ourselves in your Word.

We first get the idea of resting in the beginning:

"Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done."
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

You set an example but it went further when you made it a commandment:

""Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 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 ‭20:8-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Now I know that we don't live under the old law or covenant but the principle of taking a sabbath rest, seems like a good idea and probably something that is sadly lacking in our fast paced society. God help me to get the balance right in my life so I can honour you!

During your ministry Jesus, you would take yourself away from the crowds who were following you because you knew it was important to spend time with your Father. You encouraged your disciples to do the same. Sometimes it took a lot of effort to finally get some alone time. Mark tells about one occasion here:

"The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them."
‭‭Mark‬ ‭6:30-33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It goes on to tell how you had compassion on the people Jesus.  After teaching and then feeding 5000 people, you finally were able to get back to your plan to rest.

"Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray."
‭‭Mark‬ ‭6:45-46‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What a long day! I haven't done all the things you did Jesus but I certainly know what tiredness is today! Thank you so much for the quietness of dusk and that I can draw aside to chat with you and read your Word. Thank you that your desire is clearly for me to work diligently but then to rest and spend time with you.

Please bless all who are reading this who struggle with the balance between work and rest. Give them wisdom from your Word and give us all a good night of sleep.

I so look forward to drawing aside to spend time with you tomorrow.
Amen.