Post by warrior on Nov 7, 2012 12:51:08 GMT -5
If I were to ask my students to write a list of different ways of worshipping, I would expect them to come up with prayer, singing and reading the Bible. Some might think of fasting and even meditating. Resting could well be considered a sin by some.
We live in a very busy world. Our lifestyles are made hectic as we sacrifice our time to the corporate god of work. When we get home there are all the little chores and jobs that need to be done. Sitting down can lead to feelings of guilt. How much worse to sit in the garden or lay on your bed? Surely it is better to be involved in some kind of activity, even if that is only to surf the net, catch up with work or watch the sports channel.
I believe that rest can be worship. Biblically this is easy to demonstrate. God created the world in seven days, six days of creating, culminating in the creation of mankind, followed by a day of rest. Does God need to rest? Of course not, mankind had work to do in the garden and it was God’s plan for the work to be done from rest following fellowship with God. From this we can see that work is part of God’s plan for us. When we do not have work numerous problems can be documented. In the parlance of clinical psychology we’d say, lack of self esteem and depression for example. We can also see that rest is part of God’s plan for us and equally we can see what happens to people who do not rest. The clinical psychologist might refer to stress, physical and emotional exhaustion. In the Mosaic Covenant we could identify
8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. [Exodus 20:8-11]
Without getting bogged down in the legalities of what constitutes work we can see that God planned for us to rest in a holy way.
We can also identify seasons of rest before activity in biblical characters. Moses for example went from a busy secular season as a prince to a busy religious season as a deliverer but in the middle he had a period of relative rest and seeking God. In gardening, we might talk of a time of pruning that leads to fresh growth and increased fruitfulness.
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. [John 15:12]
So, am I saying that we should all do less? Not necessarily. We do need to be aware of two things. Even in busy seasons we need to make time to rest in God; to soak. I am not saying that we should all make physical changes. Some people seem to rest overly but do not really rest because they need to make mental changes and spend time actually focussing on God; getting past all the clutter. Secondly, we should be aware of the season we are in through the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We might enjoy being ‘the Prince of Egypt’ but if it’s not bearing good fruit we might need to move on. Equally, if we find ourselves in a season of rest we might need to be patient. In all of it we seek a closer fellowship with God. There is someone out there who wants us to be busy, busy, becoming attached to our activities that do not bear good fruit, never getting the time to rest in God.
We live in a very busy world. Our lifestyles are made hectic as we sacrifice our time to the corporate god of work. When we get home there are all the little chores and jobs that need to be done. Sitting down can lead to feelings of guilt. How much worse to sit in the garden or lay on your bed? Surely it is better to be involved in some kind of activity, even if that is only to surf the net, catch up with work or watch the sports channel.
I believe that rest can be worship. Biblically this is easy to demonstrate. God created the world in seven days, six days of creating, culminating in the creation of mankind, followed by a day of rest. Does God need to rest? Of course not, mankind had work to do in the garden and it was God’s plan for the work to be done from rest following fellowship with God. From this we can see that work is part of God’s plan for us. When we do not have work numerous problems can be documented. In the parlance of clinical psychology we’d say, lack of self esteem and depression for example. We can also see that rest is part of God’s plan for us and equally we can see what happens to people who do not rest. The clinical psychologist might refer to stress, physical and emotional exhaustion. In the Mosaic Covenant we could identify
8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. [Exodus 20:8-11]
Without getting bogged down in the legalities of what constitutes work we can see that God planned for us to rest in a holy way.
We can also identify seasons of rest before activity in biblical characters. Moses for example went from a busy secular season as a prince to a busy religious season as a deliverer but in the middle he had a period of relative rest and seeking God. In gardening, we might talk of a time of pruning that leads to fresh growth and increased fruitfulness.
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. [John 15:12]
So, am I saying that we should all do less? Not necessarily. We do need to be aware of two things. Even in busy seasons we need to make time to rest in God; to soak. I am not saying that we should all make physical changes. Some people seem to rest overly but do not really rest because they need to make mental changes and spend time actually focussing on God; getting past all the clutter. Secondly, we should be aware of the season we are in through the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We might enjoy being ‘the Prince of Egypt’ but if it’s not bearing good fruit we might need to move on. Equally, if we find ourselves in a season of rest we might need to be patient. In all of it we seek a closer fellowship with God. There is someone out there who wants us to be busy, busy, becoming attached to our activities that do not bear good fruit, never getting the time to rest in God.