Ditch Your Spa Day and Rest in the Sweet Truth of God’s Word

Posted on Aug 15, 2023 Topic : Inspirational/Devotional, Women's Christian Living
Posted by : Cambria Joy

Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places. Leviticus 23:3

***

It seems there’s not a lot we look forward to more than the chance to go on vacation. To break away from the cares of this life and refresh our souls. Just the thought of that makes me want to exhale. Even the hope of time to recover and restore can ease our tension temporarily. We can settle for the hope of rest but not follow through because of life demands or even misplaced guilt about having a break.

We regularly need to breathe a little deeper and go a little slower. Not just once a year for seven days but as a regular part of our weekly rhythm. Sabbath isn’t a religious commandment meant to enslave us but a life-giving invitation meant to refresh us. Does God not understand we have a never-ending to-do list? A whole day of rest sounds nice, but there are bills, deadlines, and well, life.

Jesus had such a full life, he barely had time to eat some days. Sound familiar? Take a look: “And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat” (Mark 6:31). Jesus knew what it was like to have so many demands that he was forced to skip lunch. He’s not out of touch with us. He felt the pains of busyness in his soul too. And that’s exactly why he repeatedly shows us a life of rest—from God resting on the seventh day of creation to Jesus resting on the Sabbath day. A kind of rest that goes deeper than a deep-tissue massage.

Now, don’t get me wrong, a spa day can be a great thing. Esther basically got beauty treatments for a year. I love a good pedicure and an afternoon lounging beneath palm trees while sipping cucumber water. However, our invitation to rest isn’t just about going to a resort. So where do we go? I think the place Jesus led his disciples is the same place he invites us to: a desolate place. Yes, a place without inhabitants. In other words, you simply need to be alone. And by “alone,” I mean you and God. Rest isn’t a location but a posture of the heart. A heart that bows in reverence to be still before God. To get quiet enough to hear his voice.

Work requires us to repeat tasks day after day. The monotony can dull our hearing and make it hard to listen to the still, small voice of God, who desires to freely give us rest when we come to him. The remedy? Just like we roll up our sleeves to get to work, we have to roll up our sleeves when it comes to rest. The challenge before us is to focus our attention on God in a world that’s loud. We’re pulled in different directions all day, but if we direct our attention to God moment by moment, we’ll find that even demanding days can’t deafen us to his whispers.

It takes diligence to wake up and slow down, to spend time with the One who gives us true life. We rush through our lives hungry for rest, but all the while Jesus freely hands it out. All we have to do is come to him to receive this soul-satisfying nourishment not bought with wages but given out by God: “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you” (John 6:27). We get full when we fill up on the words of Jesus. There’s no need to hurry through our days full of weariness when he offers us endurance by simply resting in his presence: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Go to him. Streams of quiet waters are found everywhere our Shepherd goes. Jesus promised when we come to him—a person, not a place—our souls find rest. I hope you hear the echo of God’s heart when he says, “Come away.” He wants to do more than relax you. He wants to regenerate you. You’ll return beyond refreshed—you’ll be made completely new. He’s just waiting for you to say yes. May you take his hand today and find your soul refreshed every step of the way.