Day 2 – Running to Rest

“He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” Psalm 23:2 (NKJV)

Do you obey the command to rest? Really rest. Christianity is the only religion where God commands us to rest – not only did he give the command, He demonstrated it: “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.” Genesis 2:2. Talk about leading by example! Our rest day, the Shabbat was given to us to rest our bodies from physical work, to refocus our spirits on God our Creator and, to recharge our emotional state.

We busy ourselves beyond our capability and fail to obey this precious command. I know I have, I am very guilty of this. This verse became alive to me when I realised God “makes me” lie down. It wasn’t forceful. I felt exhausted – physically, spiritually, and emotionally. I could not concentrate and I found it difficult to focus on the depth of God’s Word. Through the gentle coaxing of the Holy Spirit, God made me lie down. To stop running my life and rather learn to rest from my life.

Rest brings restoration to your soul. Verse 2 very clearly shows us where God places us for His rest: in the beauty of His creation. We were made to live in a garden; to walk in green meadows on the banks of still waters. Beauty inspires and motivates us; it brings healing to a broken, stressed-out soul. On your day of rest choose to surround yourself with beauty.  Anything you find beautiful from nature, art, or even music will bring restful peace to your body, restoration to your soul, refocus your spirit, and recharge your emotions.

Prayer: Father, Thank You for teaching me the importance of obeying Your command to rest. You taught me that it is not just to rest my body from physical work, but time to refocus my spirit to you and to recharge my emotions to take on every day with Your You! I pray that You will showcase the beauty of creation to us while we are resting with You and allow the beauty of creation to wash away the stress in our lives. Amen.

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