Ready, set … rest
By Charles Christian
We are in a fast-moving, fast-paced world. We have access to information literally at our fingertips. We have multiple calendars that map out our weeks and remind us of our deadlines. Whether we are in bumper-to-bumper traffic or sitting still at our desks, we consistently have the feeling that we’re “on the move.”
None of these things is all bad all the time. Sometimes we do have to move quickly. Consistently, we have to make sure deadlines are met. If we are driving somewhere, chances are, even in smaller communities, we can be met with delays.
Because of this, we must take time to prepare ourselves to simply be still. That’s right, we have to prepare to rest. Rest is a necessity for us. It is not just a luxury.
Our bodies, minds and, most importantly, relationships depend on us intentionally setting aside times of rest. We must put it on the calendar. We must block out time specifically to take a time out.
The story of God’s creation of the universe in the Book of Genesis includes seven days. The seventh day — called “sabbath” in Hebrew — is listed as a day of rest: “And on the seventh day, God ended his work, and he rested from all the work he had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and set it apart because on the seventh day, God rested from his work and from his creation” (Genesis 2:2-3).
There are many lessons from this text and those that preceded it. However, a key lesson might go something like this: If God, who is all-powerful, intentionally built in a day to rest, so should we.
These days of rest don’t just happen, though. We have to plan for them. We have to be intentional. We have to put on the breaks and take a break.
As you’re preparing your Christmas gift list this year, maybe you could add a special gift for yourself, one that only requires a bit of forethought and preparation. That gift is rest. Prepare your circumstances, do the work you can do and then set aside times of intentional rest. God did, and God will bless and strengthen us if we do the same.
