Rest (Pt.1)

(Part 1 of 2)

“On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all 
his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the 
day when he rested from al his work of creation.”-Genesis 2:2-3

Several weeks ago as we were leaving for vacation and I asked by family: “If you could
only choose one. Would you rather have a vacation packed with fun activities or
spend your time relaxing and come home rested?” The answers varied, but it has
gotten me thinking  a lot about rest.

To rest means cease from work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself,
or recover strength. Rest has some amazing benefits: restores energy, repairs the
body by allowing muscles, nerves, bones and connective tissue time to rebuild,
improves memory and focus, lifts our mood, strengthens our immune system
and reduces stress. Some studies even show that people who get adequate sleep l
live longer.

However, rest is not simply physical, it is also spiritual. Rest was something
that God created. In fact, after God had created all things He rested from all His
work. His ceasing from creation, actually created what we know as rest! God
recognized the necessity of both physical and spiritual rest from the very
beginning. After creating mankind, God created rest. He never intended us to
 “go, go, go”; rather He designed us to “go, go, rest”. Both physically and spiritually!

We see this in the Old Testament book of Exodus:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all 
your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall 
do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor 
your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your 
gates.”-Exodus 20:8-10

God intended us to have a physical day of rest; to cease from our work. We were to
 cease from working to focus our attention on something else…God! God called this
day the Sabbath, not simply a day to cease from working, but a day that was holy
unto God. A day, in which, we were to set aside time to come together in worship.

“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but he seventh day is a 
Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the Lord’s 
Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.”-Leviticus 23:3

It is an official day of assembly. Exodus 20:8 tells us that we are to remember it
and keep it holy. To keep something holy is to set it apart unto God. A day to
worship God:

“And it shall come to pass. That from one New Moon to another, and from one 
Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.”
-Isaiah 66:23

The Sabbath was established to rejuvenate mankind both physically and
spiritually, unfortunately the the benefits diminished as the people of God began to
take advantage of it.


Pastor Scott Burr
Dayspring Community Church