I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for [otherwise] apart from Me [that is, cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. (John 15:5 AMP)
I’m tired tonight. As I write this, I am following two Very Full Days, which are going to be followed by four more Very Full Days. Thankfully, there’s nothing catastrophic happening in my world. Regular Very Full Days are par for the course for me, albeit there have been a lot of them in the last five months. This Friday and Saturday will be two Very Full Days, as I am helping with our church’s women’s conference. I’ve been toying with the irony of a conference focused around taking a break or resting from the trials and busyness of life — when anyone who is serving at or leading part of the conference is intentionally not resting. On the other hand, this proverb caught me: “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25 NIV). I do recognize that some kinds of “work” are also refreshing, as playing keyboard is for me. When I serve the other conference attendees by playing this weekend, I have to trust that I will also be refreshed.
In the midst of Very Full seasons of life, God’s call to Sabbath – a rest – is sweet, if difficult to actually fully do. The 10 Commandments version of Sabbath is to rest completely on the seventh day.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11 NIV)
A full day of rest once a week sounds great, but is (in my experience) very challenging to do in today’s modern world. I find myself drinking at the waters of sabbath in different ways – a quick 20 minute afternoon nap, a cup of tea with a friend, a morning spent shopping for fun, and the 24-hour period where I put away one of my “jobs” in order to come back refreshed the next day. God’s invitation is always to trust him, to rest in him, to wait patiently for him. I’m not very good at that, but when I am able to be quiet I come back to the realization that he wants us to dwell (abide, remain, live, don’t move) within him and bask in his love and faithfulness.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:7, 3-4 NKJV)
Jehovah Shalom,
Thank you for your sweet invitation – and commandment – to abide, rest, and remain in you. Thank you that your laws were designed to keep us healthy, and that periods of rest are critical to that health. Help us to trust your faithfulness and to trust that we will be refreshed when we seek you and help to refresh others. When we are tired, remind us that you are the one who carries our weariness and heavy burdens and gives us rest. We pray that this women’s conference would be a time of deep shalom and abiding rest for the attendees and the workers. We ask for your blessing, your grace, and your peace to be upon us, in Jesus’s name, AMEN.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29 NIV)