God instructed the observance of the Sabbath day with good reason: rest from our labours. Now if God felt He should rest after six days of creative activity, how much more should we? Jesus was a big advocate of taking time off. Once, He sent His disciples on an evangelistic journey. When they returned thrilled about all the wonderful miracles that had happened, you would imagine that He would urge them to maintain the momentum. He didn’t. ‘Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. So they left by boat for a quiet place’ (vv. 31-32 NLT). Note the words ‘people coming and going’. Does this sound like your normal day in which you rarely get a chance to take a breather? Jesus was concerned that His disciples would get out of balance. What did He know that we continue to miss? He never rushed around, never seemed to be harried or controlled by the crowds, kept His priorities in order, and always managed to complete what He set out to do. Jesus knew the importance that rest and relaxation played in His disciples’ continued effectiveness. But ‘time-outs’ won’t occur without firm determination and planning. You must view such times just as important as any other undertaking. Prayer: ‘Father, help me to make rest a priority in my life. Help me to stop dishonouring my body, this temple you have given me to perform my purpose here on earth.’

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.