Corona Devo 1728

I can remember when our kids were young and it was time for a nap.  Oh, how they would fight it, and often there was a complete meltdown just prior to them passing out into a much-needed nap.  

They needed the rest, but they would do everything in their tiny power to fight it.

We are much bigger (and wiser!) than an infant or toddler, aren't we?  

And yet...

We certainly fight rest, don't we?   

The calendar is full and we feel proud.  The hours of shut-eye are not enough...but we just brew a stiffer cup of coffee.  The time together with the ones that count is often cut short or cut-out by our "required" time with others.    

Why do we fight rest like a child bucking a nap?  

Even God rested, and He was and is much busier than we'll ever be.  And when we remember and recognize who God is, it makes His rest all the more significant as an example for our rest.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. (3) Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.  ~Genesis 2:2-3  

After God created the world and everything in it...He rested.  

It makes sense.  In rest we can enjoy.  In rest we can appreciate.  In rest we can gain perspective, and in rest we can recover, heal, and prepare for what's next.

Let's reevaluate rest today, and more than that, let's enter into it.   

Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ (13) If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”  

(14) The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”  ~Exodus 33:12-14

~~~

Last night my husband and daughter were traveling for soccer, but our sons and I had nothing official to do and nowhere to be.  

It's something I dream about and our kids hope for.  But now that it was here...they fought it, and so did I.  First, I got overwhelmed at all that I could/should/ought to be doing...and where to start!!?  

The boys each invited friends over, but nothing panned out.    

We watched some TV, we chatted, we made a nice supper...we rested.  It was novel and spiritually/physically/emotionally therapeutic.      

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, (3) he refreshes my soul.  He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.  ~Psalm 23:2-3    

~~~    

One of our kids napped...and he needed it.    

In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.  ~Psalm 4:8     


~~~

That pain in the small of my back that's been there for the last three days melted away.  Our son's swollen-from-surgery knee went (visibly) down in size.  We connected in a non-hurried and genuine way.  We rested.  

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  ~Matthew 11:28-30   

Rest wasn't just God's plan for Himself, it was His plan for us, and for our wholeness.  We need Him and we need to rest in Him more often than we allow ourselves to.    

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.  (2) Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.  ~Psalm 62:1-2 

~~~

Look at our schedules, our days, our minds:  Oh, how we fight rest, but if we are honest, we know that rest is much needed.  

Some of us are close to a complete meltdown.

Pass out with Jesus today.  Rest with Him.  Pass on the invitation or just skip the obligation/chore/duty for once.   Rest with Jesus.  If we will honor Him in this way, He will fill in the gaps: try it and trust Him.

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.  ~Psalm 127:2

~~~ 

We need the rest: let's stop doing everything in our tiny power to fight it.


Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com

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