Day #17 Sleep / Rest
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." ~Matthew 11:28-30 {Jesus is speaking}
Weary? Burdened?
Why is it that we know we are weary and tired, and rather than stopping to rest and recharge, we stubbornly move forward like a snowplow clearing the fresh snow, but also taking out every mailbox in its path along the way. Rather than lay our burdens at the feet of Jesus, we clumsily try to juggle all of them. All the while we are only exasperating God, ourselves, and everyone around us.
Jesus wanted to give us rest for our souls; we need only trust in Him. Let's stop defiantly saying, "I'm fine," and instead, bow our heads and say, "Yes, Jesus, I need and want Your rest. I will trust You, Jesus."
Today we also want to address a bodily function that we have let run amuck much like a toddler refusing to lie down for a nap. Let's reflect on God's Word regarding sleep, and reign in this area of our life.
Our routine:
Assessment: What is the current condition of our relationship with rest and with sleep? Are we willing to give ourselves spiritual and physical rest?
What is the purpose of this relationship?
What is the state of this relationship? What is going well? What isn’t?
What changes need to be made to this relationship?
Adjustment: How often do we set aside time to spiritually rest? How many hours of sleep do we each need in order to function at our best? How much rest/sleep are we giving ourselves? How do we handle a lack of sleep and how does that affect our testimony for the Lord? The larger picture is why are we unwilling to "rest in the Lord"?
Exodus 20:8
"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy."
Simple and straightforward. This commandment should not need a great deal of elaboration, but God provided some for us anyway.
Exodus 20:9-11
"Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 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. 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."
A key word that can be neglected in this command is simply, remember. Remember.
In order to remember, we need to stop the craziness around us and remember.
When we have chaos in our lives and misplace our keys, it can add even more chaos. Most of us know the best way to handle this situation: stop what we are doing--stop the chaos--so we can remember. And then it comes to us. The keys are right where we put them. We remembered.
As important as our keys are to us, remembering our God is far more essential. Take a day and remember. Go one step further and put that remembering into action by telling what we remember. Share our faith; praise both God's Name and His actions in community.
What is this Sabbath day? Why take time to rest? We have a Creator who commanded it. We have a Creator who modelled it. We have a Creator who deserves it.
Below we have two passages that reveal different recorded reactions to God's command.
Jeremiah 6:16
'Stand at the crossroads and look:
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'"
I Chronicles 16:8-12
make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced."
Let us choose to truly remember a day of rest in order to give honor and reverence to Almighty God. God deserves this. In addition, God knows that we need this. We need to remember God's love and God's power in order to preserve our spiritual strength. We need to remember to rest in order to preserve our physical strength.
Now, to be honest, we need to analyze our sleep. I somewhat started a mini-crusade for more sleep when I taught middle school and high school. Many students thought it was a badge of honor to share with their friends how little sleep they had gotten the night before. I started giving them a response that surprised them. "Oh, I am sad for you."
As they looked at me in surprise, I explained by asking folks around us how many hours of sleep they personally need in order to feel their best. Answers varied, but many admitted 8-10 hours.
We then talked about the fact that they were teenagers, most parents now trusted them to arrange their schedules to get the sleep they each needed. So, it was a simple matter of math: You need 8 hours and you have to be up by 6:00, get to bed by 10. You need 9 hours and you need to be on the bus at 7:00; plan accordingly. Take ownership of your schedule so that you are taking care of yourself. (As an added side note, I also told them to not have a phone next to them--allowed to interrupt them--when they were sleeping.)
Some of us take sleep to extremes, and we are pleased to loaf around in our slipper socks and pajama pants a little too much. Scripture speaks to this as well. First of all, we are to work six days and rest one.
Proverbs 6:6-11
"Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest--
and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man."
Proverbs 20:4
so at harvest time they look but find nothing."
Romans 13:11-12
"And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light."
I Thessalonians 5:4-6
"But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep. but let us be awake and sober."
Finally, let us go back to possibly the sweetest part of God's command for us to rest: the fact that God modeled the command to rest, even though He didn't need the rest. God doesn't grow weary. Like parents who put everything aside to assist their children; God created for six days and then rested.
Isaiah 40:28-31
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
Prayer:
Almighty God, thank You so much for Your Guidance and for Your Example. We admit that we need You. We need rest for our weary hearts. Help us. Holy Spirit, please intercede on our behalf. We have let ourselves get so overwhelmed with the burdens we won't let go. Help us to trust You and just let go. We surrender, Lord. We believe Your promises and we desire rest. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." ~Matthew 6:21
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