Issue #1158 – Four Letter Words – May 18, 2023
This morning I want to talk about two four-letter words misunderstood in our society. I am speaking about the dread R word “rest and the dread “W’, work.
Life can be hard work at times. Often, it wearies us physically, emotionally and spiritually. You only have to look in a mirror or spend a little time people-watching to see that people are tired.
We work hard. It isn’t always productive, but people work at making their lives better. Even those who seem to skate by without having to do anything work hard at it. It can be challenging to labour at doing nothing, sometimes even more than being busy. Even chasing frivolous pleasures can tax our systems, and the fallout from those pleasures can take a toll on us.
Being Christians does not exempt us from having to work at life. There is no such thing as a free ride; somebody always pays for it somehow. Yes, Christ carries our burdens in many ways, and when the church functions as God designed it, so do church members.
Still, we labour. That is part of the curse of the fall. People were created to enjoy both their labour and the fruits thereof.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:28-31
Sin corrupted all that, and work became a tool to be used or a burden to endure rather than a blessing to enjoy. Now, for most people. Work has become a form of drudgery that serves only to help us survive and maybe pursue some form of leisure.
That is one of the reasons God created the Sabbath. We need time to rest from our labour because even pleasurable, fulfilling work costs us. Even God himself rested on the seventh day as an example for us. Without arguing about which day should be the Sabbath, I believe it is time to take at least one day a week for rest.
I confess that resting is an area I struggle with. I don’t know how to do it well, but God is teaching me.
In the Epistle to the Hebrews, we read,
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, or whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11
The Sabbath rest is time with Father. It isn’t going to church and spending the balance of the day running errands, cleaning the house or pursuing leisure until you are exhausted. Generally speaking, your favourite leisure activity may be fun, but it isn’t focused time with God. It may be refreshing and time well spent, but it isn’t entering into the Sabbath rest.
Whatever day we choose to observe, it is a time for rest, prayer, worship, Bible study, meditation and enjoying the presence of God. While not every moment in the day has to be focused on those activities, intentional time with God is essential.
Will we be perfect in our pursuit of a Sabbath rest? Of course not, but we can be diligent in our efforts. As we grow in discipleship and Christ-likeness, we can find that the task becomes easier and a vital part of our week.
The importance of resting with God cannot be overstated. There will come a time when believers have eternal rest in Christ, but we also need to make a point to rest and recharge for our earthly lives.
In today’s ever-increasingly fast-paced world, the need for rest should be a giant stop sign for us. STOP! Take some time alone or with friends and family, and spend it together in the presence of Jesus. Be refreshed and recharged.
The Sabbath is a time to replace our busyness and fixation with worldly things with stillness, labour with laughter, and busy schedules with quiet reflection. Allow the Lord to recharge you in every way.
There will be Gleanings for the next few days. We will return on Tuesday, May 23. May you take some time to rest before we meet again.
Be Blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV).
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