need a nap? by charlotte foster

“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 
the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. 
Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:11

Have you ever wondered why God rested on the seventh day of creation? I have. After all, He is God, why would He need to rest? It seems He likes to stop and admire what He’s done. We see this when He stops to acknowledge what He made and proclaim it was good, every single day of creation.

“God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25
And “God saw that it was very good.” Genesis 1:31

Looking back over time we see God is not in a hurry. He makes plans and patiently carries them out. He even takes time to rest! If rest is important enough for God to do it, then it stands to reason it’s important for us too. We can liken Him to a father knowing his child needs to take a nap. Does the child want to be still and rest? Usually not, but his body needs it. It’s good for him.

Do you think God might like us to stop and look back over the week and what we’ve accomplished (like He did with creation) and see His hand in our days? To see the good He’s done in our lives and acknowledge it, and rest with Him (and in Him) on that seventh day? 

Charles Spurgeon wrote, 
“Faith is reason at rest in God.”

When all our days run into each other without stopping to contemplate and acknowledge the good, we become weary and run down. We were made to need rest, both physically and mentally. Not just time to sleep, but time to rest in Him…to be still and know that He is God; to be renewed in strength and restored in spirit and reset for the week to come. It’s wise to remember that our Father really does know best, and sometimes we actually do need to take a nap!

“Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength…It is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less.”
-Charles Spurgeon

Are you taking time to rest?

In His grace,
Charlotte