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BREAD FOR THE JOURNEY BLOG@ Rhythms of Grace: a Journey into RestSustenance for the journey into rest and peace
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NEW SERIES One practical thing we can do in our pursuit of rest is to introduce the rhythm of regular ‘sabbaths’ or rest-days. Sounds obvious, but for many of us with our helter-skelter lives, taking time off is on our wish-list but not in our diaries. For many Christians, Sunday is considered to be the Sabbath; for a few it may mean a list of forbidden activities, a day of energy-sapping boredom; but for many others, far from being a day of rest the Sunday-sabbath is often the busiest day of the week. And for those without any sort of Sunday-sabbath focus, days off are frequently spent catching up with outstanding tasks from the working week, ferrying children around to an array of activities, fulfilling family obligations, and never-ending improvements and maintenance on homes and gardens. As the numbers of stress-related illnesses soar, the fact is many of us just need a rest—and not solely on an annual holiday, but a regular pattern of rest-days or periods. The idea of a rhythm of rest and work goes right back to the beginning, when the Lord followed His work of creation with rest. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. [Genesis 2:1-3] The Hebrew word for rest is the same word from which we get the word sabbath, and it means to ‘cease, to sit down or sit still’. If something is made holy, it is separated, set aside. The first Sabbath, whether we believe it was literally a day or a period, was a set-aside time filled with the blessing and presence of God. And Man who was created on the sixth day, when everything else had been accomplished, had as his first day, a day of rest. This is significant because his rest day came before he started on his appointed tasks rather than afterwards! SABBATH REST IS A FAITH ISSUE  Sabbath rest is a faith issue, because true rest is rooted in our trust in the provision of God. Only people who know that He is their Source, can take their hand from the plough. Only people who know their times and circumstances are in the Lord’s hands, can take time off. Only people who know He’s got them covered, can rest in the midst of stuff that needs attention. The challenge to us is to develop our trust in God’s provision, and to set aside specific time at intervals to rest from our work, and be rejuvenated by the presence and blessing of God in a real Sabbath rest. Why not visit GOD'S PROMISE OF PROVISION page for more on this topic. Click on the picture below:  Maybe two questions arise… ‘How do I find the time?’ and ‘What do I do in my rest-time?’ The answer to the first, is to start where you are, with manageable amounts; even ½ hour a week is better than nothing. And in time, this rest-time can be extended to one hour, half a day, a full day—or longer. We'll explore some answers to the second next time. Until then, you can read more about Sabbath rest on the webpage, SPIRIT-LED REFRESHMENT: THE RHYTHM OF SABBATH.  THIS WEEK’S GRACE RHYTHM:
Commit yourself to learning more about the Lord’s rest over the next few weeks—and invite Him to be your Teacher. NEXT WEEK: 5 SABBATH INGREDIENTS How to do 'Sabbath' in our modern world... GET IN TOUCH...
[Photo credits: Joe Waranont (city traffic); Dan Burton (girl on beach); Annie Spratt (basket); Aaron Burden (bench);
Davide Baraldi (mailbox) @ Unsplash, with thanks]
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