God Rested, For Us!
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I was with my “twin brother” recently. He is actually my close friend. We’ve been very close since our early teens; and over the years, we’ve played prank on many people; that we are twins. Even his wife believed we were twins; till she saw that I use “Malm” as my surname, instead of “Manu!” Even then, Alex told her, in his usual humorous manner:
“Don’t you know?" "Bernard is named after our grandfather!”
We had a whole lot of discussions, but most of the serious discussions we had were about health. When we started our friendship in our early teens, 35 years ago, health was never an issue for any of us to discuss. But now it is.
Two things about health that he said, stuck with me.
1. As we age, the body’s ability to process sugar diminishes; so we need to reduce our sugar intake.
2. We need to rest.
When someone who is a medical doctor, with Ph.D in a related area, says such things, we better take them seriously.
Pondering theses, I asked myself,
"Do we even need humans
to tell us to rest before
we believe it?"
God Himself rested, and told us to do the same.
READ Genesis 2:2-3
And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
(Genesis 2:2-3 ESV)
This is an all too familiar scripture text to those who know the Biblical account of creation.
God, the one with all power and authority, rested from all His work that He had done. The God, who never sleeps nor slumbers, could have chosen not to rest; but He did it solely as an example for us.
He later institutionalized rest, saying:
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall 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, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11 ESV)
God instructed His people, their servants and their animals to have one day in seven to rest. This was not an excuse to be lazy, because they should have worked for six days to get to the Sabbath! God was not just concerned about the people and animals, but also the land; saying the land also needed to rest (Leviticus 25:4, 8-12)! God wanted the lands they farmed on, and raised their livestock and other animals on, and the animals themselves; to all rest. In other words, even our work, and the tools of our work, all need rest. God is that serious about rest!
Since the fall of man, rest has eluded us (Genesis 3:19); because we decided that we would start making all the decisions ourselves! Mankind has become more tense, and less relaxed since then, and God has to basically command us to rest. God knows what health experts tell us every day; that the body gets repaired during rest, that rest boosts our immune system and protects us against diseases; that prolonged lack of rest can lead to many serious health and wellbeing problems!
To have true rest, we have to trust that God will take care of things. We have to trust that, if we take a day off, nothing will come to a halt.
It was disobedience in the Garden of Eden that started the problem; and the only solution to it is obedience to God, and faith in Him and the rest he offers us.
To have true rest, we have to trust that God will take care of things. Jesus was serious when He said,
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”(Matthew 11:28)
True rest comes only when we come to God in faith, believing that He will take care of business for us.
The rich need rest, the poor need rest, the rulers need rest, and the servants need rest too; everyone needs rest!
Rest is priceless, and God takes it very seriously!
MEMORY VERSE
“He rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2)
QUESTIONS
- Have you been resting well?
- Do you know God takes your rest very seriously?
PRAYER TIP
Almighty Father, may we find
rest in You.
URGENT CALL
By nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God. We ultimately face the wrath of God!
But God in His mercy and love gives us a chance to reverse this trend, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer”
for guidance if you want to
make that decision.
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page.
God richly bless you
SPECIAL GRATITUDE
Thank you for visiting the Testimony Devotional Website.
We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.
We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
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