Ain’t no rest for the weary??
The common idiom goes: There ain’t no rest for the weary
This is elevated to truth in a culture that has glorified hustle as the main driver of success. Which certainly hustle helps but hustle alone leads to an unhealthy life.
Listen I get… job, kids, activities, social life, etc. It’s hard not to stop. There is always something more to do or accomplish.
We must remember that God built rest into His creation strategy. After six days of work, on the seventh day, God rested.
God reminded Israel about this when he gave the ten commandments. He told them to keep a Sabbath, which is the Hebrew word for Rest, and to keep it holy, which means set apart (another way to think of this is: BE INTENTIONAL).
Jesus tells us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
So what is the best strategy to find rest??? Carving out time to be with God.
Rick Warren gives these 3 suggestions to be intentional with our time with God. He encourages us to find ways to Divert Daily, Withdraw Weekly, and Abandon Annually .
I would even add Adjusting Always?
Every 50 years in Israel there was a YEAR of Jubilee. During that year property was returned, debts were forgiven, and slaves were released. As our lives move along, we often can get off track, and lose sight of what is most important. We should be asking ourselves: in what are the ways we are adjusting to bring things back into balance that have gotten out of balance.
Psalms 129:1-2 says,
Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain;
unless the LORD protects the city,
its watchmen stand guard in vain.
In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for bread to eat—
for He gives sleep to His beloved.
Every year at River Valley Rockford for the last Sunday of the year we move our Sunday service of the year into the homes of our families. We do not ‘cancel church’ but encourage our families to make this a Sabbath Sunday that focuses on both their physical and spiritual rest.
We invite you to follow us as we journey toward this intentional day of rest. You can do that by following us on Facebook where we will be releasing info that will help you maximize your Sabbath Sunday.