Rest Requires Effort... In The Right Direction

Saturday used to be a day off. All the way back in the Garden of Eden God established that man should take a day of rest every week. Throughout Scripture the 7th day of the week (our Saturday) has been the day of rest for the Jewish people. I remember as a child that Saturday's were fun days off. But as we have grown up as individuals and as a culture, we take less and less time to rest. 

But some are tired, not so much from physical labor, but from emotional, spiritual, relational, and other types of exertion. There is a rest for your soul. But it is only found in Christ. Let me say that again... if you want to rest in the most important areas of your life, you must be one of God's children through Jesus Christ. There is no true rest or peace apart from Him. Here is how one writer in the Bible put it...

"A Sabbath rest remains for God’s people. For the person who has entered His rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His. Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience." (Hebrews 4:9-11)

Are you worn out in your life today? Do you need rest from your efforts to please people, to become successful, to find significance, to achieve balance, to love well, to quit bad habits? Instead of trying to create your own rest, turn your efforts toward entering into God's rest.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]
 
Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

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