“…let us not be weary in well-doing“- Galatians 6:9
Have you ever had a day when you wanted to just stay in bed? I write this with my head spinning from a sinus headache. At times, this week, I’ve felt like Don Quixote tilting windmills. My last sermon didn’t go the way I hoped. My knees are sore, so it’s hard to work out. On top of all that, I ate way too much chili, and my pants don’t fit right.
My emotional state can best be described by the famous children’s book “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”. I think I’ll move to Australia.
Have you been there?
I know that I’m not alone. Even the apostle Paul felt, “perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) I think it’s with empathy and insight that he told the church in Galatia to “not be weary in well-doing.”
I wish godly activity would automatically produce god-like energy. That there would always be energy to contend for the faith, to pray, to do an extra set of chores, or to ease someone else’s burden. The truth is, unfortunately, we are all human. We get tired. We get emotionally depleted. We get weary.
What do we do in times like that? We rest.
This is where the idea of a sabbath comes in. Sabbath is more than taking a Sunday without working. Sabbath is a deeper principle that speaks to our ability to truly rest. The Book of Hebrews says that Jesus is our sabbath. This clearly doesn’t mean that Jesus is our day off. Jesus is not our vacation to the Caribbean with all the amenities.
Instead, Jesus is the reason we can truly rest.
In the book of Genesis, the first chapter displays God wrestling back chaos. The world was formless and void. Pure chaos. By speaking light, land, and the sea into existence, God was driving back chaos and putting the world in order.
On the seventh day, he rested. He was able to rest because there was no chaos to stop. He was able to rest because things were in perfect balance and perfect harmony. That’s what rest truly is.
I recently read an exploration of the sabbath that said that a person can be alone on a beautiful mountain with no responsibilities, and still be filled with an inward sense of unrest, competition, and drivenness. This person, even though they are in a peaceful place, can still lack inner peace. Sabbath rest alludes them.
While we need to rest our bodies, we more desperately need to rest our souls. Jesus is the one who pushes back the cans. Jesus is the one who restores us. Jesus is our place of rest.
Tonight I can lay my head on the pillow, knowing that the world is not in my tired, fragile hands. The world is in the pierced hands of a Savior, who has bigger plans, and better methods than I will ever understand. All the headaches, frustrations, and sore knees can’t thwart the will of God. Because of Jesus, I can rest.
With You,
Pastor Tim
