Have you ever felt "so tired"? How many times have you said, "I'm so tired!" I have and it seems like I say it weekly. God set up a plan to rest... that is what the Sabbath is supposed to be about... rest and worship. Frankly it seems to me that we do little of either one. We live in a "rat race" of hurry and trying to do one more thing and when the "day of rest" comes we try to throw in an hour of worship and go out to play or work. I am guilty.
For the past five years we have accepted the invitation from friends to come to Hawaii and for Dawn Marie and me, it is our Sabbath rest. We read, pray, rest, read, pray, rest, etc... and in it is a sense of renewal. As a pastor there is no Sabbath rest. It is almost impossible to rest at home because of the demands of the ministry and life. We live life "too busy".
While we are away, we really truly rest and renew spiritually. This is not a hurry around to do tourist activities, it is a wait on the Lord time. It truly renews my inner being and physical strength. I am trying to creatively discover ways to incorporate some "Sabbath Rest" into my life at home. I find it really hard, but I can see how valuable this really is. I am amazed how God speaks to my heart during this time and I need it.
How about you?
God bless you and find some "rest"!
PJ
One Year Mini devo's for Men
- Pastor Joe - facilitator
- Married to Dawn Marie. My goal for this blog: Men interacting with one another about what they learned from the Mini devo's.
If God set aside a day of rest, then it just make sense that I should. So what is a day of rest? I was raised that Sunday was God's day of rest and that I should do nothing on that day that wasn't related to church. No tv, no playing ball, no organized activities. Thankfully my parents were more realistic and allowed me to enjoy Sundays which was more restful than the stress of being afraid I would do something wrong and be condemned by the church. Now a days I pretty much do what I want on Sunday. Have I gone too far the other way? For me it is restful to change the pace of my daily routine. Yes, go to church and fellowship, sing in the choir, listen to a good sermon from the word, are all part of the Sabbath and are a part of rest. But I also thoroughly enjoy throwing a fishing line in the water or watching the young people play a good game of softball or other types of activity that are out of the daily normal routine. I also enjoy simple quiet time of not doing anything. God gives rest in many ways and for too many years His rest has been kept within human interpretation.
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