Lesson in Resting
When it came to the topic of rest, God took a
paragraph in Exodus 20: 9-11 to spell it out for us.
“Six days you
shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath the LORD
your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or
daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien
within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the
sea, and all that is in them, h but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the
LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20-9-11
Once on a
trip far from home in the R.V. I watched
as an elder man got out of his camper slowly and stiffly followed by a
chattering, leaping and full of zeal one little boy about nine years old.
Carefully the elderly man set about setting up a couple of outdoor lounge
chairs by the camp fire while the boy waved a fishing pole around and chattered
up a storm. By the time all was set up it was nearly noon but grandpa got out
his tackle box and fishing pole even it was late in the day to fish and led the
boy down to the trail to the lake.
Later on
I see them return with a string of perch and grin on the boy’s face stretched
ear to ear. He hopped around and grandpa corralled him into the camper and soon
we could smell the wonderful aroma of fish frying.
Before long
the boy leaped out and grabbed his fishing pole eager to get going again. But
instead I saw grandpa go sit in the chair, lean back and pat the chair next to
him waving the boy over. With a shrug of his shoulders the boy obediently
followed suit and as grandpa napped the boy stayed put in respect until grandpa
woke up. That day, one young boy learned more than how to fish he learned the
importance of respect and resting too.
And that’s
when I remembered and learned a lesson in resting. God’s message and command to rest is not just for
sleep, but for respect to Him, not just for some but for everyone, and not just
for our bodies but our minds and soul as well.
“In six days the Lord made the heavens and the
earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day.” God’s
message is plain. If creation didn’t crash when I rested, it won’t
crash when you do!” Max Lucado
“Lesson in Resting” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every
Morning Ministries© June 3, 2016
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