Rested

There's nothing like waking up refreshed and rested.

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I recently took a few days off and the break was much needed  and revitalizing.

It was wonderful to sleep in a little longer, and to have time to catch up on the many plans I had started, but was struggling to finish due to lack of time. In this fast-paced life, rest seems like a commodity, but yet, our bodies are programed to shut-down in a cyclical fashion. Although sooner or later, sleep takes over when we give up fighting, I don't think the majority of us ever really 'rest'.

When was the last time you truly rested?

If you are anything like me, when you lay down, plans, thoughts, ideas and sometimes worries seems to come out to play just when you are ready for bed. In many cases, our worries, disappointments, frustrations, and even excitements sometimes rob us from the rest that our bodies so desperately need. 

Do you know the Bible talks about rest? Quite a bit actually. If I were to mention all of scriptural references here, this would be a pretty long blog, but I will just mentioned the first instance here:

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." Genesis 2:1-3

Powerful! After The LORD GOD creates the earth and all that is in it, HE rests! Now The LORD GOD isn't like man. HE doesn't get tired, but HE rested to show us what we ought to do on every seventh day. In the first proclamation of the Ten Commandments, the fourth commandment (Exodus 20: 8-11) is a command about keeping the Sabbath day (the seventh day) holy. It tells us we are allowed to work six days, but the seventh is The Sabbath - the day of rest. The LORD also speaks plainly that all that is within our household ought to rest as well, and finally in verse 11, HE states why; because in six days The LORD Himself did all His work and rested, so we are commanded to do the same.

If you haven't noticed yet, I am speaking of both secular and spiritual rest. If you just 'sleep' on the Sabbath, you are not keeping the Sabbath holy. The Sabbath is a day of communion: communion with The LORD and communion with mankind. It is also a day of rememberance, reflection and meditation. We need both types of rest: we need time to rest from our labors and we need spiritual rest - where we can lay all our burdens upon The LORD and take up His yoke and learn from Him.

There is nothing like sweet rest in The Lord!

Spend sometime studying the 'rest' of the story in God's word today.