Rest and Restoration: Even for God!

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, and leads me beside still waters.”
                                                                 Psalm 23: 2

Piney Lake near Vail, CO
Photo by Emily Lukanich
On Sunday, we heard about the 2nd verse of the 23rd Psalm. God provides us with rest both for our bodies and our souls. A sheep that is able to lie down in a pasture, and not be alert for an attack, is able to rest and recover. The sheep is not only safe but it is in a place where it’s needs for food and water are also met. The sheep is able to have true rest that heals and rebuilds.
We have in our progress lost the art of rest. We get constant alerts on our phones. We are able to binge on TV shows. We are even able to not turn off the lights because we reach the good part of our book. We have a difficult time sleeping and relaxing. I find it very hard to turn everything off, both externally and internally, and stop, rest and recover from the many demands of daily life.
If you don't find ways to rest then your
body will make you rest. 

Many of our modern day illnesses can at their core be linked to a lack of sleep. ADHD, depressions, heart disease and even obesity have been shown to begin due to a lack of consistent sleep. Things fall apart when we don't rest. Something as simple as going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time every day could give us the means to fight off the attacks of the world. And yet, everything in the world tells us, we must work longer and harder so that we can survive.  
God gives us something different. God give us rest.
When the Israelites left Egypt and headed to the Promise Land, God gave them the 10 Commandments to guide them. The 4th Commandment is “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” One of God’s first gifts to his chosen people was to give them the time to rest and renew their relationship with God. In Egypt, they had to work non-stop to produce and now out in the desert, they were able to care for themselves both physically and spiritually.
In the Psalm, we learn that God provides us with all that we need and the first way God cares for us is to give us a safe place to rest, relax and recover from the world. So we are able to re-enter the world stronger and better prepared for anything that comes our way.
Conversation Starters:
  • Do you think you get enough rest every day? Why or why not?
  • How can we as a family be sure that we are all resting?
  • What do you find relaxing? Where do you like to go to relax?
  • Why do you think God wants us to take time to rest?
  • Do you think God take time to rest? (Genesis 2: 2-3)
  • Talk the many time that Jesus goes away from everyone to rest. (Mark 4:35-40, Mark 6: 32, Matthew 14)


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