Spiritual Practices: Rest

On the seventh day, God rested. He set out a pattern of rest from creation. Yet I still find that I must actively pursue rest in order to make it happen. Working from home makes it easy to drop into the office and “just check” something at any time. I also do some work for folks in the USA and the time difference means that I get messages into the night, and they work into the night. I enjoy the work I do with them, so it is terribly tempting to be involved at all hours.

Rest in Body, Mind, and Spirit

But with discipline, I keep Saturday as my day of rest. That doesn’t mean that I do nothing. I still tend to cook, but most of my day is spent with family or reading 😊. I intentionally do not do things that are “work-related.” Biblically, or Old Testament-ally, they wouldn’t even walk very far. But I think the spirit of the 4th commandment is to ensure that our bodies have time to rejuvenate.

It is not just a bodily rejuvenation, though. It is also the mind or spirit. We need to ask if we intentionally connect with God and have fellowship with believers. I set aside regular time for connecting with God because he is the one who will still my soul and my mind, put it at rest. Others will keep me on his path and help me not stary. It seems to go hand-in-hand. Perhaps that is why I am struggling with having joined a congregation that I don’t connect with (a story for another day perhaps). Connection is how God made us. Adam needed God AND Eve.

Perhaps we will also be reminded of rest by looking to nature around us, to the children who are having a time of rest from school soon. The rhythms of life show us that rest is only natural. Yet, we have so many tools and reasons for pushing on that we end up exhausted. God made us to find rest in him.

Rest in God

Matthew 11:28-30 is frequently called upon when we talk of rest. Jesus invites us to come to him, weary and burdened and he exchanges that for rest. He encourages us to take his yoke and learn his rhythms. His yoke has a place for two, one to guide and one to learn. That is how animals were taught to be useful in agriculture – one leads, and one follows. That is how we find rest – co-laboring with God. (Why would God have me share that lesson last week in the newsletter if not to remind me how to find rest – co-laboring?)

What habits have you formed to create rest for yourself? Prayer, meditation, hiking? Share in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!