Sacred Rest

Something about summer always seems so restful.  The long warm days always seem to bring out the idea of slowing down and spending time with loved ones.  As I have thought about this a passage has often come to mind.  “By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work.  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).

For me this passage highlights the importance of rest.  Often times I look at the huge needs around me and all that must be done and I feel that rest is not that important.  Then I am brought back to this passage and see that God Himself has set rest as an important part of life.  God’s rest was not because He was tired or in need but because He is setting us an example.  We are not meant to work without end.  Rest is a vital and important part of life. 

It is easy to assume that the work that we do is the most important thing.  But God called rest holy or sacred.  I believe part of why He said this is that rest shows a deep trust in God.  When we rest we show first that we believe that God is in control and able to accomplish what needs to be done.  And secondly we affirm our trust in His grace by counteracting the lie that God’s love for us is based on what we do.  When we rest we show that we believe God’s love for us is not based on what we do but on who we are. 

We miss out on so much of life when we are not able to take time to rest and reflect.  Days loose their significance and we miss the gifts and beauty of life that God gives to us in each moment.  When we approach rest it is important not to take a rigid legalistic approach, but to allow the time to be fluid and the sort of rest that we need at the time.  As we enter this summer, my prayer for each of us is that we will embrace the opportunity for rest and that God will meet us there.

Rev. Andrew McGregor

Fort St. John Alliance Church