Date: 02-08-2021

Title: Rest

(S) cripture:
    Exodus 23:10-12 (NLT2) “Plant and harvest your crops for six years, 11 but let the land be renewed and lie uncultivated during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest whatever grows on its own. Leave the rest for wild animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves. 12 “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working. This gives your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners living among you to be refreshed.

(O) bservation:
    God’s instructions here are about the Sabbath rest. It is for more than just individuals. It is for the land and animals as well. We are to work six and rest one. For the land it is years, for man and animals it is days. The instruction is plain and for our good.

(A) pplication:
    I remember a professor saying, “If you are doing more than you can get done in six days you are doing more that God intended you to do.” In out hurried lives we often neglect to rest. Problem is that at some point we are going to crash, and the crash will be great. God built within us the need for rest and then He gave us a formula to bring that rest about in out lives. This rest is more than just doing nothing, it is to be a time of renewal and reflection. It is a time for our spirits to be renewed. We miss so much when we are tired and harried. This is not a call to laziness. It is a command that empowers our energy level to meet the demands in our lives. If I want to be effective in my walk with the Lord and to make an impact for the kingdom then I must not neglect the Sabbath rest God has commanded.

(P) rayer:
    Lord teach me to work effectively for six days and to rest as you would have me rest on that seventh day. Help me manage my time so that I am not hurried but rather living as you would have me live. Amen