Rest…..cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength:
“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” Genesis 2:2
One lesson that I’ve had a hard time learning is that I can’t spend all my energy on
everyone else or doing everything else. You see, I’m a nurturer….I can’t help it. In fact, whenever I try to back off from being so “helpful,” here comes a situation where I just have to help out. I used to take all the extra hours at work (when I was available) if nobody else could. I’d stay late…come in early…complete all the tasks….and the list goes on. I’d work when I was sick, or tired, or sick and tired. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still do my job…sometimes I over do it…because I am determined for things to be done right and completely. But I had to learn that it was okay to be tired, okay to want a rest, a day off, or even to just come in at “MY” regular time AND leave on time. I had to learn not to feel bad when there was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING else that I could do. Trust me, I’m a “do all I can” type of girl but I had to understand when enough was enough.
It took many exhausting days and people that would allow me to overexert myself for me to learn to STOP AND REST! There came a point when I had to even learn to rest when I
was really too sick to function because I was so conditioned to push myself beyond what I could do. God had to show me through that exhaustion and the actions and responses of “friends” and people around me that I needed to learn to just back off sometimes. Once I did, He began to show me others and MYSELF! He showed me that there is more than one way to be a busy body and that if He didn’t send me to do it, then I may just be the most helpfully disobedient person there ever was.
God won’t ever let you enter the ring without gloves! Meaning, if it’s for you to do, He will equip you…He won’t allow you to overextend yourself. This goes for day to day helps as well. We must seek God in everything that we do. “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:6 Our path includes going to work, school, helping others, and giving of ourselves. In reading the word of God, we also learn that He set examples for us to follow along with the instructions He gave. The scripture above, Genesis 2:2, tells us that God, Himself, rested……
So, tonight, get some rest! Tomorrow, only do what you are CAPABLE AND EQUIPPED to do!
“So then, there is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath-rest reserved for the [true] people of God; For he who has once entered [God’s] rest also has ceased from [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His own.” Hebrews 4:9-10 (Amplified Bible)
Ms. A.M.White