Rest 1!

Rest 1!

‭Genesis 2:2-3 AMP‬

[2] And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 

[3] So God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it [as His own, that is, set it apart as holy from other days], because in it He rested from all His work which He had created and done.

As you read the story of creation, you get an idea of what the standard is. The bible starts with the account of 'the work of creation', which means that even as God commanded and all that He had planned came into physical manifestation, there was still a great deal of creativity and intelligence to make one bird different from another, or one variant of fish different from the other. Every day for the first six days, there was an account of something that God did. He kept up the 'work' of creation for those 6 days, and the bible records that on the 7th day, God rested. It is a strange thing to read about a God who neither sleeps nor slumbers, yet it is written quite clearly in all the versions that God rested. What does this hold for me today?

The biggest lesson must be that if it is good for God, it must be ideal and suitable for me. God will not command me to do anything that He has not first supplied sufficient grace for. He worked for 6 days, and then He rested. The bible did not say that he was slothful at His work, waiting for the days to just pass by so He could rest. He actually completed the work He set out to do, and as we know, the bible also records that when he saw all that He had done, all was very good. He got satisfaction from the effort, and then took the time to rest. That must be the standard we all strive to attain and maintain. Let it not be that I am a slacker at work, seeking to put in minimum effort yet seeking maximum benefits. What new values should I seek to attain, going forward?

God also blessed and sanctified the 7th day, not because it was more important than any other day, but because it was the day in which He rested. The days of work were blessed, but also was the day of rest. Rest is one of the blessings of God for his children, as we will see in subsequent devotions on this topic. You cannot take it for granted, or think you are entitled to it by virtue of your efforts only. It I'd first and foremost God's gift to us as His creation, but also maximally enjoyed when I do it in the context of a healthy relationship with God. God has laid down the perfect example, and I will do well so to do too. Work hard, but rest well. Take God up on His Word, in obedience to His command, and see Him do mighty things in your life. God's time of favour is here.