Rest

A Verse, A Comment, A Prayer, A Blessing

Rest

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Rest

A Verse, A Comment, A Prayer, A Blessing (4/21/2023)

Casey B. Hough

Apr 21, 2023

A Verse

Exodus 20:8-11

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

A Comment

Well, I intended to send this devotional out on Wednesday, but it appears that I need to apply the lesson of this passage to myself before sharing it with others. Monday and Tuesday were great days, but I was exhausted after two early mornings and lack of sleep. The morning that I woke up to write this devotional, I could hardly think. So, instead of sending a devotional about resting, I rested.

This was a good and practical reminder for me. God has not designed us for ceaseless work. Instead, he created rhythms of work and rest for his creation. We need these types of reminders in the hustle and bustle of our busy schedules.

The temptation that we face in the world is to believe that we will not have what we need if we do not work at all times. From the near-constant notifications on our smartphones to the demanding meeting schedules that many of us maintain, we rarely miss opportunities to turn our attention away from God. Yet, God’s Word promises us that as we work, He will take care of us. We can trust Him with our work and our rest.

We see this principle of Sabbath rest most clearly in the story of the people of Israel as they were delivered from captivity in Egypt. The LORD provided manna and meat for the Israelites in miraculous ways. The people were commanded to collect God’s provision on six of the seven days. And they were only supposed to collect enough of God’s provision for one day of sustenance, otherwise, the leftovers would spoil. Yet, there was an exception on the sixth day of the week. On the sixth day, the people would collect enough food to be eaten on the seventh day, their Sabbath, their day of rest, and the LORD would keep the food from spoiling.

On the seventh day of their week, the Israelites did not have to collect food from the field. They were to rest from their labors. But, as you can imagine, this required them to trust that God would provide and preserve the food for an additional day. Resting was an expression of faith in God’s provision.

I think this principle carries over to us as well. When we work, we should work hard as unto the LORD. Yet, when we rest (and we must rest), we should trust that God will take care of us. Both our work and our rest are expressions of faith that God will take care of us as His children. As you move into the weekend, my prayer is that you will have confidence in the LORD’s provision, unplug from your busyness, and rest in His goodness.