The Gift and Necessity of Rest

October 28 (Psalm 127:1-2)

Unless the Lord builds a house,

     the work of the builders is wasted.

guarding it with sentries will do no good.

      from early morning until late at night,

for God gives rest to his loved ones.  (NLT)

When are you at your best with God?  When are you at your best for Him?  If you are anything like me, it is not when you are doing a million things all at once.  And this probably means we are not at our best most of the time.  “Now here, now there, he darts from place to place.”  It is a line describing the Greek warrior Diomedes in the Iliad, but it also describes most of us today.

Why is that?  Why do we run ourselves ragged?  It is because we believe that we must build the house, metaphorically speaking.  We think it is all up to us.  Hard work is good, of course, and Paul had strong words for those who were lazy (2 Thessalonians 3:10), but nowhere does Scripture say we must do it all and kill ourselves in the process.  In fact, it says the opposite.

God loves you, which means, as this Psalm clearly says, He will give you rest.  Are you rejecting the gift?  Are you handing it back to Him because you know better what needs to be done?  Not only is that arrogant and insulting to God, but it is something we would not even do with a gift from an earthly friend.  He knows what is best, not your boss, not the family calendar, and not you.  Listen for Him, and when He is calling you to a moment of quiet with Him, eagerly accept the gift that He knows you need.

Father, help me to set aside regular moments each day to rest in You.  Help me to develop habits of rest in which I can hear from You and share with You my heart, in which I can grow in You and worship You truly.  I ask it in the name of Jesus, amen.

Copyright © 2018 by Steven R. Perkins