God’s command to take time out
He rested, so why don't you?
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. Check out Genesis 1 for the full story. But then there’s the beginning of Genesis 2.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
God created all that we have, all that we see, and all that we are. And then he stopped. He rested. He looked over all that He had made and made it holy. He gave us an example of how to sit back and take time to enjoy his creation, and commanded us to use it as a time to praise Him (Exodus 20:11).
I could give you countless examples of God emphasising this again... and again... and again.... to His people. It seems that from the very beginning we have struggled with this concept of taking time out. Check out this link to see the Biblical references to the Sabbath – there are 123 of them. That is a lot of reminders – and each one is worth listening to. So why don’t we listen?
There is one thing I can promise you – as you get older, life gets busier. You will likely have a full time job one day. Maybe a family will be thrown into the mix – husband or wife, children.
My challenge to you, and to myself, is to take time out now to rest in God. Read His word, talk to him about the week past and pray for the week to come. This does not have to be a whole day – many of us would struggle to find one – but it has to be a time when you can be free of distraction and willingly put all aside to be with God. It doesn’t have to be Sunday, either. You have 168 hours in the week to choose for your Sabbath – which ones will you set aside?
This will not be an easy thing to do. There’ll be family, friends and your own desires (plus Facebook, Twitter and homework!) to distract you. But if we take this time to give to God now, where we today, I am sure we will find it easier to put our lives into perspective, and to remember that if the author and creator of life took a day off and told us to do the same, it’s advice worth listening to.
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