TIME TO REST? 

Alice YoungFrontPage, News, Pastor

We live in our world’s whirlpool of work. We arrive early to get work done, leave late to get work done. We eat dinner, thinking about work. When people ask how we are, we auto-reply ‘busy’. 

Yet at the centre of this vast universe, God is resting. 

We are frenetic with activity. We are pulled into the culture of busy. There is school drop off, work calls, emails, Facebook feeds, text messages. In the gaps, we squeeze sports, music lessons, dance class, or other variations. 

Yet at the centre of this vast universe, God is resting.  

God has time to complete all that needs to be done. In Genesis 1 God looked out after six days, content. God said ‘Perfect, done. I can rest’. God blessed the day and made it the peak of the week. Not Day 5 when he created humanity. Not Day 4 when he got the most done, adorning the universe with galaxies and stars. Day 7, the day full of no activity, the day of rest. 

With God, the goal of work is not more work, but rest. In our rest, we are called to enjoy all that has been achieved and celebrate all God has given.  

Rest. Put the work down. Stop the striving and hush the ambition. Instead celebrate, enjoy, notice, reflect, imagine. Rest in grace, receive love, restore hope. Rest. 

Enjoy, 

Jason 

*These helpful ideas on God’s rest are informed by a devotion ‘Leaders who rest’ given by Assoc Prof Matthew Anstey, 2012. 

Photo by Chris Thompson on Unsplash