Years ago, I started my own business in web hosting, when that was a newish industry. I was studying in university at the same time, and had always been able to do both, until a server crashed during midterms. I didn’t let either midterms or my clients drop, I simply gave up sleep. It finally caught up with me, and I had to get out of my room and went for a late night walk. I eventually stumbled into a church, exhausted and scared that my business might not recover. I remember the minister listening, then suggesting, “get some rest…then consider, maybe God is trying to tell you something.”

I returned ready to solve my problems. I moved all the customers I could to one server. I ordered new server, then there was nothing I could do but wait. I could only rest.

I felt completely different when I woke up. I could study, I could write papers, I could think, I could fix the problems that caused the crash.

Rest is important!

An estimated 3.3 million Canadians age 15 or older have problems getting enough sleep, which may be affecting their health and quality of life.

A magazine of internal medicine summarized their research. The bottom line is: “sleep serves as an indicator of health and quality of life”
Lack of rest leads to more tension, depression, fatigue and marital strain, at least for women, according to one study of 1,500 women in rural Wisconsin.

And one medical publication found Middle-aged men who were at high risk of heart disease 50% less likely to die of a heart attack over nine years if they took frequent vacations.

We need rest, and we’re not just going to look at physiological reasons, but theological. That our need for rest comes from God himself.

Question: When was your longest stretch of sustained work with no day off? How did it impact you?

Ryan Sim - August 27, 2015

Thursday - Act On It - Finding Rest

Work and Rest

Our efforts to impose rest on ourselves often fail. That’s because the problem is not one of having the right tools to get things done, avoid procrastination, etc. We can use these things, but it really starts with our hearts – and there is a problem in our hearts called sin – the consequence of our rebellion against God. Everything we do – work and rest, and the rhythm of Sabbath rest, takes on a selfish tinge as a result. In the 4th Century a Christian leader named Augustine wrote, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.” It’s hard work being separated from God. God said it would be – sin meant we would have to toil to overcome thorny ground and survive. But we can find our rest in God. In Jesus, we have access to that rest once again, even though we opted out in sin. Jesus did the ultimate work of closing the separation between us and God. We can once again join him in building his kingdom, in his creative work. We do this using the gifts he’s given us to work to build a better society, life-giving technology, strong families, new infrastructure and so on. Whatever is consistent with his plan and purpose. And we can also rest in him, knowing that it’s his work we help with, and not our work to force by our sheer act of will. We can find deep satisfaction in knowing God is God, and invites us to work with him, rather than against him or instead of him. This says it nicely: So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (Hebrews 4:9-10 ESV) It’s in knowing God is God, and we are not, that we find rest. Said another way: It’s in knowing God, through Jesus’ work on the cross, that we find rest for our souls. Challenge: Make a list of the excuses and reasons you’ve used to avoid rest. Pray about each one of these and turn them over to God in trust.

From Series: "Work and Rest"

Just in time for summer's blend of work and rest, Redeem the Commute is starting a new series of daily challenges to help busy people restore life to the commuting lifestyle. This seven week series will look at the meaning and purpose of work, rest, and ancient practices that have helped followers of Jesus to keep the two in perspective and balance for centuries.

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