Reader, if you could describe your schedule during the week in three words would “busy” be one of those words? If so, you would not be alone, for busyness is something that is relatable for many across the United States of America. It is something, which impacts both Christ followers and unbelievers. The definition of “busy” is to be “engaged in action; full of activity.” Having activities going on is not a bad thing; even so, as Christ followers, busyness can become a negative if it jeopardizes our obedience to the Lord when it comes to one of His commands, which calls us to rest.
Where in God’s Word does the Lord command His people to rest? Let us look to Exodus 23:12, which says, “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.” One might argue the second half of this Scripture does not apply to twenty-first century believers in the United States of America. This would be a fair point. Still, the second half of this verse does teach us how there is a purpose behind having one day each week to rest from work.
To begin, let us focus on the first part of Exodus 23:12 where the Lord commands His followers to take one day to rest from work each week. For Christ followers in the United States of America, Sunday has been traditionally the “rest” from work day, for many believers go to church on Sunday morning. Does the Lord command believers to rest on Sunday, though? Nowhere in God’s Word does the Lord ever tell believers a specific day.
Because the Lord does not command a specific day in our weeks to rest, we must be intentional in prioritizing rest each week. It is easy to fill up our schedule, but it is difficult to say no to activities, and say yes, to taking a day to rest. With that said, work does not always mean you are getting paid to do it. One of the definitions of “work” is “to exert oneself physically or mentally especially in sustained effort for a purpose or under compulsion or necessity.”
A wonderful example of this definition of work is found in the life of the One who came to this earth to show us what it means to be His disciple and how to be His disciple: Jesus. When we read about Jesus’ ministry in the four gospels, Jesus did not get paid to teach or heal people. And yet, we would still make the case and say Jesus worked, right? One could only imagine how busy His days were teaching the crowds and healing the sick. It had to be both physically and mentally exhausting.
The Lord can relate to having a busy work schedule, and the Lord also shows us how to be intentional about prioritizing rest. After Jesus healed a man who had leprosy, Luke describes, “But now even more the report about [Jesus] went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:15-16). Work takes its toll on us both physically and mentally; and consequently, the rest we need must too be both physical rest and mental rest. Therefore, we see in verse 16 how Jesus took time to rest physically (took a break from healing) and mentally (took time to be alone and pray).
As Jesus’ followers, let us follow His example and be intentional about taking one day each week to rest (physically and mentally). If you do not know where you can prioritize rest, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in what needs to change in your schedule. The Lord wants you to be intentional about taking care of the body and mind He gave you and a key part of doing so is rest. When you do choose to be intentional in prioritizing rest, include time resting in the Lord’s presence through prayer, the Word and worship. Be assured by choosing to be intentional about rest each week, it will refresh you and energize you to do the work the Lord calls you to do in the waiting.
All Bible verses are from Holy Bible: English Standard Version