The world runs on urgency. Productivity is prized. Busyness is worn as a badge.

But the Bible offers a countercultural invitation: rest. Not as a reward for effort, but as a rhythm built into creation itself.

God rested on the seventh day. Not because he was tired, but to model for us the cadence by which flourishing happens.

A few practical thoughts:

Rest is not laziness. Laziness avoids responsibility. Rest restores capacity so we can show up fully.

Rest requires trust. To stop is to believe the world keeps turning without your effort. That is, at root, a posture of faith.

Rest is communal. The Sabbath was practiced together. We are not designed to recover alone.

This week: what would one genuine act of rest look like for you?

Let us praise the Lord, and be thankful for all He has done. His thoughts towards us are thoughts of good.

Jeremiah 29.11: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. [NKJV]

And He satisfies our mouths with good, such that our youth is renewed like the Eagle’s.

Psalms 103.5: Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. [NKJV]

There is nothing to be afraid of. For anything that is out of place, let us bring our requests to him, believing that He hears our petitions and will take action on our behalf. We are not without hope.

–

O.J