DAILY READING
REFLECTION
Restorative Rest
by Elaine Pierce
One refrain I often hear from friends is, 'I'm too busy. I just need more time for [fill in the blank].' I'm sure I have said that, too. We love to be busy, don't we? Idle hands are the devil's workshop...hard work pays off...no time for rest when you have a busy day ahead...I could go on but you get the picture. We value a full schedule, and we almost get nervous when there is too much downtime.
But it seems clear God has designed us to need Sabbath rest. Refreshing rest, not simply following rigid rules about how many hours we should be in church on Sunday, or how many "fun" things we are not to do on that day of rest. Jesus made it clear to the Pharisees who questioned the 'work' his disciples were doing [picking heads of grain on the Sabbath] when he told them this:
"The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." (v. 27-28)
This statement had to infuriate the Jewish leaders. How dare he tell them he was in charge of the Sabbath! They were the leaders; they set the standards, and the standards were high and exacting. But they didn't exactly focus on holy rest; they focused on following man-made rules that were impossible to follow perfectly. Jesus knew their hearts were stubborn, and rather than seeking to understand, they were plotting to destroy him.
Sabbath rest invites us into restorative delight, as Pastor Aaron said in his sermon on Genesis 2:1-3. I close with this joyful scripture from Isaiah and I invite you to soak in these words and meditate on the good gifts of Sabbath rest God gives us.
"You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail...." (Isaiah 58:11b)
"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob." (Isaiah 53:13-14)
PRAYER
Lord, I long to be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Help me enter Sabbath rest and lean on you, not on my understanding. I boldly claim the inheritance of Jacob, of Isaac, of Abraham, and I ask for your strength, your peace, and your mercy. Thank you for never giving up on me, and help me love you more clearly, and share your love with others. Amen.
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