We were not created to work 24/7. Instead, our Creator’s design is more like 8-10/6. Or, to translate that into 8-10 hours per day for 6 days, with one of those days (in our modern, post-agricultural generation) for household related chores. The rest of the hours in a day are for rest (we need to sleep), replenishment (we need to eat and perform basic self-care), and relationships (we need to be present to family and friends and others we come alongside and/or serve).
In our now-more-urban, fast-paced, heightened-stress world, there is an unstated belief system that keeps alive every possible hour in a given week for yet another activity or work-related responsibility. We have come to believe that every waking hour of every new day needs to be productive and active. But, with that mindset comes an accompanying addiction to work and feeding the incessant need to be needed deep within. We end up exegeting daily the verbs to do, to want, and to have, and neglect the verb to be.
Where in your week is there a real hiatus from work, so you can rest, replenish, recreate, and renew? God our Creator filled the first six days of creation with incredible creativity. But he rested on the seventh day and called it holy. Sabbath rest enhances our work as we take time to cease from and enjoy the work of our hands; to rest body, mind and heart; to reclaim our identity as children of God; to celebrate our life in God with the people of God.
Relationships have been my primary focus this past week as we witnessed (and I officiated) the marriage of our son to his beloved bride. As a result, a life-giving hiatus from my work occurred and things like a weekly blog weren’t written on time! But, the hiatus from work was filled with refreshment and renewal, the created order came alive in my spirit, and all was very well in my world. I praise God for being fearfully and wonderfully made: created by him to work, but also to rest, to replenish, and to renew. How about you, dear friend?
