Finding True Rest

     Resting in God's work is not easy.
     We work hard each day. We sow seeds. It seems that if we stop working for one moment, the widgets will pile up in front of us and we will never catch up, like an episode of I Love Lucy. Or, the fear may be that everything will come crumbling down if take one breather.
     Many of these fears, you may be surprised to hear me say, are not unfounded. This is the way the world works. These are the rules for the road. If titles, accolades, positions of power, and success are your only motivators in life, you indeed need to keep up the pace or the widgets will pile up! Your kingdom may indeed come crashing down if you quit for one moment.
     When we work with God as our inspiration and incorporate the discipline of Sabbath rest into our weekly routine, we find refreshment from this conveyor-belt mentality. We find a new understanding of vocation and rest. But what is Sabbath rest?
      Sabbath rest is more the attitude of your heart than anything else. It is not watching Saturday afternoon football for hours on end. It is not a fancy weekend vacation or a game of golf on Sunday mornings. Sabbath rest assumes that you rest from your normal labors (whatever it is that you "do" vocationally), but what brings refreshment is the spiritual process that transpires as you desist from your labors.
     When we participate in Sabbath rest, we come to realize and trust that God is at work -- nurturing the seeds we have sown throughout the week -- even as we sleep and rest. It is not an attitude of "I don't care" what happens to my fields on my day off, I just need a day off! (Although we all feel like that by the end of the week) The attitude is one of gratitude and joy as we come to truly rest in God's work, because God never takes a day off! He is always at work in this world and in our lives, and we can rest in this knowledge.
     Are you tired? Do you need refreshment in your life -- a tree to shade you from the heat of the work day? Read Isaiah 55:1 and Matthew 11:28. How do you spend your "day(s) off"? What activities help lead you into genuine Sabbath rest?