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Rest day
Anyone who likes to exercise knows that it’s important to take rest days to let our bodies recover. And the same principle can apply to other parts of our lives too. We need to take rest days in order to recover and refuel. Even God took a rest day. ‘By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work’ (Genesis 2:2 NIV). If we fail to take rest days, we can end up burned out and unable to serve God or even do the normal everyday activities in our lives. When we have a lot to do at work, home, or church, it can be tempting to keep working until it’s all done. But we’ll ultimately work better and be healthier if we take regular rest days. That’s why the Bible says, ‘The seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work.’ Rest days also give us an opportunity to reconnect with God. When everything else in our lives quietens down for a while, it’s easier for us to focus on God and listen to His voice. It’s on these days that we can ‘be still and know that [He is] God’ (Psalm 46:10 NCV). Rest days remind us that we’re humans who can’t do everything. They help us to rely on God to provide, rather than relying on our own strength. Sometimes we can feel like resting is inconvenient, but God never intended for it to be a burden for us. Jesus said: ‘The Sabbath day was made to help people; they were not made to be ruled by the Sabbath day’ (Mark 2:27 NCV). God knew we would need rest days, so let’s take them.
What Now?
Take a rest day this week. Use it to reconnect with God and recover physically.
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