COMPLETE REST
Prayer: Lord may we experience the complete rest you have for us this summer.
Scripture: The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 13 “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths ; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. 14 ‘Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death ; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD ; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. Exodus 31:12-15 NAS
There are 282 verses in the New American Standard Bible containing the word, “rest.” God created us, He knows what we need to thrive and fulfill His purposes. He knows what we need to stay firmly planted and bear fruit. In knowing full well what we need, He was very adamant that we rest. God commanded, not suggested, that His people rest one full day per week. God’s demand was so serious that He commanded that anyone who worked on the Sabbath would be put to death. Now we just work ourselves to death. The Jewish people still observe the Sabbath. God’s purpose was a day to worship and be renewed, unfortunately we have turned the weekends into a frenzy of activity that can be just as exhausting as the rest of our week. We need to rest if we are going to reach our full potential and serve Him as living love letters to the least and the lost.
I know that some of my time of rest was stolen by Satan the thief, who, if he can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy. What are your plans for this summer? Have you planned time to rest? Time to have fun? Time to be renewed and restored? I am not just talking about a week’s vacation, I mean every week. I challenge all of us, myself included, to learn how to Sabbath. Think of it as obedience to God, and I am sure we will reap the reward of following His design for our lives.
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]