Daily Devotional: Rest

Genesis 2:2-5

I’ve been given some bad advice throughout my life, but one of the biggies was, “You don’t need more than four hours of sleep a night. Anything more than that is practice for death.” This line got a good chuckle from the people attending this sales seminar, but it is, in fact, horrid advice. Just ask any athlete who has suffered an injury. Too often, injuries result from over use – not enough rest and recovery time. It may sound impressive to work out every day, take very little rest and go, go, go! Adequate rest, however, allows broken down muscle tissue to mend and get stronger. Rest also allows your body to replenish your energy stores. My experience also has shown that adequate rest helps me think better, become calmer, and be better prepared to face new challenges. Knowing that God is the wisest of all, how can we not take His advice? Clearly, He sees rest from work as incredibly important, as He “blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” Rest time also is the ideal time to take our focus off our busy lives and refocus on the One who gave us life in the first place. God never fails to restore your soul when you take the time to rest in Him.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for rest. Help me place this as a higher priority in my life than I currently do. Thank You for your patience with me and for welcoming me to spend time with You. You bring restoration to my mind, body and soul. In Jesus’ name I pray – Amen.