Many grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations are open 24 hours a day to make life more convenient for customers. One item they don’t sell, however, is rest – a commodity important not only to us but to God. In the book of Deuteronomy, God commands, “You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me.”
Rest is a state of inactivity and relaxation. It is a surrender, a laying down of arms. Whatever plans you’re making, whatever work you’re up to your ears in, whatever pleasures you’re enjoying, whatever sorrows, anxieties, or problems you’re in the midst of, set them aside and rest.
Like prayer, rest allows us to bring focus to our thoughts. It binds the body, mind, and spirit. Through it we gain new hope and new strength. That is why we learn to trust the benevolence of God to see us through the six days of activity and return again to the seventh day of rest.
Give heed to your life, your health, your wholeness for God, for your sake and for the sake of those you love.
This message is adapted from a devotion written by Melissa Ramirez for Women of the ELCA.Today we remember William Tyndale, translator and martyr, who died in 1536.
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