READING: Leviticus 23-25, Mark 3
This past Sunday, a brother in Christ was spiritually sensitive enough to recognize I was tired and needed rest. In fact, he called me to check on me—which was incredibly encouraging and life-giving to me. The fact that he recognized my weariness, though, reminded me of a problem during most of my spiritual walk: I don’t take enough time to rest. Then, I think about that reality again today as I read so often in today’s Old Testament reading about observing Sabbath-like rest and halting work on holy days. Nothing was to get in the way of their worship on those days.
As my colleague Mark Rooker has written, “Humans are not to be bound to endless toil.”* God gave us the gift of rest that we might focus on Him, recover from weariness, and serve Him more fully upon being rested. To take a day off work is to say, “God, the time You have given me is Your time, not mine.” Further, it says, “I trust You, Father, to meet my needs” and “My time with You and Your people is greater than my time in the workplace.”
Please pray for me that I will intentionally and regularly accept this rest gift from God. An exhausted church leader will struggle worshiping God fully.
PRAYER: “Lord, let me hear these words today. Show me the value of rest.”
DAILY ACTION STEP: If you need to make the same commitment, do so. If not, do pray for me.
TOMORROW’S READING: Leviticus 26-27, Mark 4:1-29
* M. F. Rooker, (2000). Leviticus (Vol. 3A, p. 283). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.