38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.
I'm not good at resting. I'm not good at taking days off. I'm always working. I have a routine for just about everything that I do. I make lists for the things that I need to get done in the day. I'll schedule out my prayers. I'll schedule out my lunches. Even when I'm on the phone with someone, I'll be thinking about things that I should be doing. I also have a routine for getting ready for bed.
Rest.
I have to do everything in my power to relinquish power. I am constantly working on learning how to relax. I have discovered throughout the years of counseling and working through my anxiety that my stresses come from myself. And that's a hard thing to come to terms with: I am the reason why I'm stressed.
By my nature, I am my the cause of my worries.
So the words that Jesus offers in Matthew 11:28-30 are so comforting, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Come to Jesus, and I find rest.
I know that I'll work, worry, and make unnecessary movements in an attempt to get tasks done. I'll say to God, "But there are tasks to be done! I must do them."
And God will respond, "Do not worry and be distracted by these things. Rest in my presence."
Sabbath is a gift of God. It is an extension of God's grace. We are invited to partake in it. By this invitation, we are also invited into God's likeness because going all the way back to Genesis 2, we see that God also rests.
God, the Divine, the Holy One, the Transcendent Deity, rests!
By taking part in Sabbath, we are then asked by God to be with God. Isn't that something? The goodness of God is that God allows us to spend time with Him. 24 hours. One day.
This one day out of the week where we get to rest, not because we have to, but because God allows us to.
This one day out of the week where God multiplies our sleep.
The day where God gives us permission to rest in His promise and His presence and partake in the better thing.
God makes the day holy. We do not. God gives us the ability to rest.
In our western, anxious, work-driven society, rest is a luxury we cannot afford. There are things to do. Places to drive to. Meetings to attend. Coffee to drink. Dishes to clean...
I can go on.
But I must not because God allows me to rest. God, in His goodness and love, allows me to rest. And it's just one day out of the week, but this is the day where I am in the throne room of my Creator with no distractions. No work. No worries. Nothing that can get in the way of me spending intimate time with my Lord and Savior.
Because Sabbath was made for me so that I can spend time with God. Things will get done. They always will. But they can wait until another day. Today is my day I spend with God.
Me and Him. Him and me. Alone.
No world.
No noise.
No confusion.
Just me and Jesus because this is the better part.
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