We’ve had a few deep and hard-hitting devotionals over the last few days so today, let’s relax a bit. After all, this is National Relaxation Day, established in 1985 by fourth grader, Sean Moeller. The Clio, Michigan youth must have been having a tough year writing too many book reports or building dioramas or learning his division tables. He needed a break! Maybe he was just inspired to develop a day to celebrate because his grandfather, William Chase, was the founder of Chase’s Calendar of Annual Events.
Such creativity must’ve run in the family.
School started yesterday for Bryan, and I would imagine there are some students who are ready to have a National Relaxation Day. The school doesn’t celebrate this, though, until Monday, October 7th. And this isn’t an all-day celebration. Instead, there are no after school athletic practices and no homework – supposedly. The kids still must go to school, take tests, and do all the normal activities during the day. The night is to be reserved for families to relax and enjoy each other’s company.
Some Christians get a bit uptight over such a concept. They believe we are supposed to “work for the night is coming.” In 1929, Bessie Hatcher wrote a hymn that was popular in that time period. The chorus says:
Let me burn out for Thee, dear Lord
Burn and wear out for Thee.
Don’t let me rust, or my life be
A failure, my God, to Thee.
Use me and all I have, dear Lord,
And draw me so close to Thee
That I feel the throb
Of the great heart of God,
O let me burn out for Thee.
This song was written, though, before “burn out” had the modern-day connotation. A
century ago, the song was about a wholehearted dedication to the Lord, something every believer should have.
Is God against relaxation? Is it sinful and self-centered? Or should we just be working machines for the Lord, never resting and driving ourselves until we collapse?
Genesis 2:2-3 says, “And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” How often does a seventh day happen in a week? Once, right? That means there are 52 days of rest scheduled by God in a year.
But that’s not all. Studying through the Old Testament, you will see that God established not only the weekly Sabbath, but He scheduled other Sabbaths, special times of celebration. There were festivals that invited Israel to put down their work and gather for festivities, food, and worship.
Perhaps you say, “Well, that was Old Testament. We aren’t under Sabbath guidelines as they were. We just need to keep working.” Consider the example Jesus set for His disciples.
Mark 6:30-32 says, “And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.” Stop right there. The disciples are “on a roll”. Strike while the iron is hot as the saying goes. Did Jesus tell them to keep plugging along? “(31) And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. (32) And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.”
In His humanity, Jesus slept. He went alone to pray. He tried on occasion to avoid the crowds. He went to social gatherings. He went out to eat with others. He set the example that rest gets us ready to keep up the work.
It is NOT a sin to rest. It is not a sign of weakness or laziness. Our weak bodies need rest.
Ultimately, though, our rest is in Jesus. He told us in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
And, in the future, something more is promised. The rest we get today lasts for a short time, but a future rest is promised. As we look for that day, rest in this promise found in Hebrews 4:9. “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.”
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