Time To Rest

Be still and know that I am God.  – Psalm 46:10

For years, when working in Children’s Ministry, Sundays often ended up being seven hour plus work days.  Typically, I’d wake up before the sun and work on last-minute tasks like blowing up balloons and labeling bouncy balls, then get to church early and finish setting up the classrooms.  After teaching elementary aged kids all morning, I’d put everything away, clean up, grab lunch and drive home for my ritual “Sunday Afternoon Nap.”  

I rationalized that I deserved a nap after all my hours of working.  Although I’m no longer working on Sundays, I still want to take that afternoon nap.  Why do I feel guilty for resting on the day the Lord rested? 

Are you able to unplug, unwind, and rest on Sundays?  Do you practice “Sabbath rest” or, like me, is Sunday just another day to cook, clean, run errands, and tackle the “To Do” list?  When every day is busy, they all tend to blur together and we celebrate none of them.

Our family lived in an Orthodox Jewish neighbor in Worcester, Massachusetts for three years.  I became close with my next door neighbor, Dinah.  Every week, I was an eyewitness to what biblical Sabbath rest looked like.  Dinah started Sabbath preparations early in the week with grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, and cooking.  These were all done by the time the sun set on Friday, when real rest took place for the next 24 hours.  Our houses were so close that I could look out my window and see her entire family gathered around their dining room table, candles lit, heads bowed in prayer over a feast of food ready to be shared. As I peered into Dinah’s world, a longing for rest took up residence in my soul.  

God wants us to take time to rest with Him every day, not just once a week.  How we rest may be different but it’s important to find some each and every day.  Without rest, we will eventually become depleted.  

God wants to fill you with the Holy Spirit that brings the strength to tackle the entire day’s tasks.  Will you rest in His presence and be still?  Will you allow God to quiet you today and every day? 

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