How do we know when it’s OK to rest? I’ve struggled with that question for years. Recently, the words of a friend sparked a profound revelation. (Thank you, Ronel.)
The biblical account of creation includes the words: “By the seventh day, God completed His work that He had done, and He rested.” Teachers expounding on this have often relegated rest to a simple formula. Fortunately, this passage says a lot more. It contains a valuable answer.
God, we’re told, completed the creating he was doing. Did God run out of ideas? Surely he could have made another thousand species of fish, a couple hundred more plants, or at least a few additional stars. But instead, for some reason God stopped and said “I’m finished.”
That, to me, is the secret to knowing when to rest. It’s not based on fatigue, time, or an inflexible principle. It comes from listening to the quiet voice in my spirit telling me “You’ve done enough.” Sure, there are more e-mails to write, documents to edit, and miles to run. But for this moment it’s time to rest.
And, at least for now, that’s all I have to say about that.
It’s been a while since I came to this blog. As I read this entry, I was reminded of a recent related experience for myself. We are doing a lot of renovating in the house which includes purging. Which usually leads to a yard sale. There is so much to be done but one night this past week as I was pondering whether I needed to tackle another closet, I heard that inner voice that told me it was ok to stop. It was time to rest. I had done enough to accomplish what needed to be done for the time being. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.