Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Psalm 62:1-2

Devotion

It’s that time of year. Despite temperatures flirting with triple digits (as I write this, it is 99 degrees in a heat-advisory), emotionally I am wearing a thick hoodie while on my fourth slice of pecan pie at Thanksgiving. Fall is here. This season has always meant the start of something exciting for me. As a kid, it was going back to school, being back at church with my friends, and chasing my dream of literally being Russell Westbrook—or as my mom would call it, going to basketball practice. 

We subconsciously build our habits around the things immediately in front of us … work, school, and church: the essentials are in place. But then the extras start to pile up: gym/fitness, school pick up and drop off, book club, youth soccer tournaments, college football, volunteering, pickleball, video games, concerts, etc. None of these things are inherently bad, and that’s the problem. Our routines can quickly bring too much of a good thing. 

Our schedules are overpacked. We are stressed, barely finding time to finish the responsibilities we’ve already committed to, much less having leisure time to enjoy things we want to do. If you’re anything like me and color-code your Google Calendar, your schedule begins to feel like a nagging rainbow, looking at you saying, “Hey! You have no free time. But don’t worry, you chose this. Enjoy!” 

What do we do?

Let’s jump to the creation story in Genesis (Genesis 1:1-2:4). God works for six days, then rests on the seventh day. He declares everything he made in the first six days is good. He declares that man, being made in his image, is very good. Then, interestingly, a step beyond good or very good, he declares the seventh day holy (Genesis 2:3). This is the first time in Scripture that God designates something as holy—a word typically ascribed to God himself, as the very essence of his character and nature. Rest is holy. Look at the days God worked. At the end of each day, it says “And evening passed and morning came, marking the __ day.” (1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). This is different from how we typically think of time. For us, the day starts in the morning when we wake up to get ready for work or school, and ends in the evening when we go to rest. Why does the author of Genesis order it inversely? 

The original recipients of this creation story in Genesis would have likely been the ancient Israelites after they had been freed from slavery in Egypt. The Egyptians put them to work for 400 years under savage treatment (Exodus 1:11-14). Their family and friends were in danger of being beaten or killed if they did not produce enough. Their entire sense of self-worth was built on how much they could generate for Pharaoh, so their family would not be put in harm’s way for their lack of work. The Israelites were not too many generations removed from this mindset when they received this message from Genesis: the day begins with rest; they are made in God’s image—their value isn’t based on their level of production. This would have been radical for them to hear. 

We tend to think of rest as a necessary component amidst our frenzied schedules—a break at the end of the day to give us just enough of what we need to get through to the next day. That is not God’s design for us. From the outset of human history, the Lord declares that mankind is very good and rest is holy—before any work is completed. Do you believe that?

Resting, in fact, is a declaration of trust in God. By taking space to refrain from doing anything productive, you are stating that you trust in the Lord’s provision for your life, taking the burden of responsibility out of your hands and relinquishing it to God’s power. When we order our days like God does in the creation story—starting with rest rather than squeezing it into any hidden cushion of our calendars—we learn to delight in the quiet comfort of being fully loved by our Creator without having to earn it. Rest is not a reward for a schedule asphyxiating from production. It is God’s design for us.

CHALLENGE
Rest before you’re ready. Schedule it into your calendar and specifically give yourself space to be unproductive. If you rest with the hope that it will enable you to work harder later, you are using it as a tool for productivity. Go for a prayer walk, spend 10 minutes in silence and solitude, read the Psalms, lock your phone away for a few hours and be present with the Lord. Resting also does not have to be an isolated endeavor: practice with your family and close friends.

PRAYER

Lord, teach us to live in the willing embrace of less. Give us the deep peace that comes from being unconditionally loved by you, and protect us from losing tolerance of your divine interruptions in our life. Remove from our hearts the illusion that more will ever be enough. Thank you for how you love us so faithfully, despite our heart’s attempts to earn that love. Amen.

Josh Autry
Worship Coordinator - Central Ministry

Resources:

Listen to Peace by Crossings Worship Collective.  

Read Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer.

Explore other devotions like this one any time at crossings.church/devotions .