God rested

Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. – Genesis 2v1-2

God rested. Now there is something to think about. God finished up His work, and then He rested. Why did He have to do that? Why would a God with all the might and power and strength in the universe stop and rest?

This is just the first mention of rest in the Bible. Moses father-in-law had to come to him and encourage him to rest because he was taking too much on himself. God will later use this example to make rest a part of His law. Jesus Himself had to come apart and rest.

But God, why did He rest? Simple, He knew about us and He set a pattern for us. He knew that rest is vital. A lack of rest will wreck us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. That, of course, does not mean that we can be lazy and waste the time He gives us. We do need to remember the need to take care of ourselves and part of that care taking is rest.

Balance is a theme that runs throughout the word of God. Work hard, be diligent, fight the fight, and redeem the time. But at the same time don’t forget to rest. If we forget that we become useless to ourselves, our families, our workplace, our church, and even to God.