We Need Rest. Every year during the holidays our lives get busier than they usually are and additional stress comes on. Today I want to encourage you to take time to rest. Rest does not necessarily means sleeping (although we do need to sleep more). It means to just slow down and make time to read a book or watch a movie or do an activity that refreshes you. It is different for all of us. This devotional reminds us that rest is a gift from God and that He wants to enjoy it.

Rest Is a Gift from God
#11

Hebrews 4:9-10 (NLT)
So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who enter into God’s rest will find rest from their labors, just as God rested after creating the world.

Exodus 23:12 (NLT)
“Work six days, and rest on the seventh. This will give your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It will also allow the people of your household, including your slaves and visitors, to be refreshed.”

Did you know God commands us to rest? He created us to be able to work six days and rest the seventh. He Himself gave us the first example in the Book of Genesis when—after spending six days creating the entire universe—He rested on the seventh. If God wanted to rest, what makes us think we don’t need to?

Unfortunately, we don’t allow ourselves to rest enough. We keep going and going until there is nothing left of ourselves to give. We push until we burn out physically and spiritually. Our bodies and minds need rest. Proper rest refreshes and strengthens our body; it reenergizes our minds so we can think clearly again. Not only that, when we clear our minds from the daily pressures and stresses of life, the Lord can speak to us in order to refresh, renew, and strengthen our spirit.

We can experience a special peace and rest in God—but only when we obey and do His will. Rest is a blessing and a gift from God. Are you getting enough of it?