Rested Development

We all know that God created the world in six days and on the seventh day He rested.

Was God tired and weary after six solid days of work?

The answer to this question is a resounding "No".

God is All Powerful, therefore, He would never tire and have no need to rest.

So, why did God rest?

The truth is, He set aside this seventh day of rest strictly for our benefit.

Exodus 20:9-10 (NET) - For six days you may 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, you, or your, son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.

God in His infinite wisdom knew our physical bodies would have need of rest.

Work in and of itself is a good thing.

As a matter of fact, we were meant for work.

Genesis 2:15 (NET) - The LORD God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and maintain it.

So, work is something ordained by God. Yet we can overdo it if we are not careful.

Moses almost overworked himself.

Moses was a great leader.

Like many great leaders, Moses tried to do everything himself and was quickly burning himself out, but, like us, he was probably too busy to notice.

Fortunately for Moses, God blessed him with a wonderful father-in-law named Jethro who took notice of this. Jethro had a frank and honest talk with Moses and helped him put things in proper perspective.

Exodus 18:17-18 (NET) - Moses’ father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good! You will surely wear out, both you and these people who are with you, for this is too heavy a burden for you. You are not able to do it by yourself."

In the verses that follow, Jethro suggested a plan for Moses that would allow him to work but would keep him from working to the point of burning himself out.

Fortunately for Moses, he heeded this wise council.

Even Jesus knew there were times He needed rest.

Jesus had both a Divine Nature and a human nature.

While the Divine Nature had no need of rest, the human nature did.

In the Gospel of Luke we read where Jesus healed a great multitude.

Luke 4:40 (NET) - As the sun was setting, all those who had any relatives sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus. He placed His hands on every one of them and healed them.

This healing continued apparently throughout the night.

Luke 4:41 (NET) - The next morning, Jesus departed to a deserted place. Yet the crowds were seeking Him, and they tried to keep Him from leaving them.

Jesus went to a deserted place in order to find rest for His human nature.

We are all in need of rest periodically.

That is why God set aside the Sabbath Day,

This does not mean exchanging one set of activities and demands on our time for others that may prove equally or even more tiring.

Rest, true rest, like the kind of rest that God meant for us to have is achieved when we set aside the time God meant for us to set aside.

A time of quiet set aside to commune with God and reflect on all that He continues to do for us.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, October 7, 2011.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, October 14, 2011.
Schedule subject to change.

Fear Not

Worry... It is one thing human beings excel at.

Many of us are worried right now.

We worry about the state of the economy.

We worry about war.

We worry about the environment.

We also find ourselves concerned about things closer to home as well.

We worry about our children.

We worry about our parents

We worry about our jobs.

God must have known we would be prone to worry.

That is why He reminds us time after time in scripture to "fear not".

Somewhere I read that believers never fear or worry.

I do not agree with that.

There are many examples in scripture of the faithful dealing with their fear.

Elijah was afraid when Jezebel threatened to kill him.

Here was a man of God who took on the prophets of Baal and prevailed. Now a threat from Jezebel fills him with fear and he hides in a cave.

1 Kings 19:9 (KJV) - And he came thither to a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said unto him. "What doest thou here Elijah?"

Even Isaiah exhibited fear when he experienced a vision.

Isaiah 6:5 (KJV) - Then said I, "Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts."

Even the followers of Jesus experienced fear.

Once when traveling by boat a great storm arose that greatly frightened them.

Mark 4:37-38 (KJV) - And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship so that it was now full. And He was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?"

So, if you ever find yourself worried or afraid, relax. You are in excellent company.

When facing the unknown, the all too human response is to expect the worst.

The followers of Jesus expected the worst.

The reality was quite different.

Mark 4:39 (KJV) - And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, "Peace, be still." And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

What of Isaiah?

After his lament of impending doom, God removed his sin and Isaiah’s fear was replaced with boldness.

Isaiah 6:8 (KJV) - And I also heard the voice of the LORD saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then said I, "Here I am, send me."

And what of Elijah?

Elijah received new instructions from God to appoint two new kings and a new prophet.

Not bad for someone God found hiding in a cave.

In life we face many unknowns.

We can assume the worst and allow fear to dominate our lives.

Or, we can turn to God and with His help "fear not".

Which option will you choose?


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, September 23, 2011.
Please enjoy the contributions of my fellow Christian bloggers while you are there!
I’ll be back here on Friday, September 30, 2011.
Schedule subject to change.