1.29.18 Prayer Prompt: A Reminder to Rest

PRAYER PROMPT ••• It rained all day yesterday.
It was a perfect day to stay inside and rest with a book, coffee, and vegetable soup on the stove.
However, I spent much of it running in between raindrops.
I tend to avoid driving in the rain because I get nervous.
I drive a little on the slow side (the lead foot of my youth got me in trouble too many times) and rain slows me down even more.
What slows you down?
We live in this super-fast paced go-go-go culture, and the idea of slowing down isn’t one we like to embrace.
But God encourages it.
He didn’t design us to go at this frenetic, break-neck speed.
He wants us to be productive, with a measure of rest baked in.
Because we can’t be effective if we don’t allow ourselves time to rest.
Before I continue, I acknowledge my own need for the very thing I’m writing about (family and friends who are reading, you don’t need to point it out to me. The irony isn’t lost.)
In Psalm 127:2, King Solomon wrote, “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.”
There’s a reason God worked for six days and rested on the seventh (Genesis 2:2-3).
There’s a reason we’re commanded to keep the Sabbath day holy (Exodus 20:8-11).
We need rest!
A time to regroup and rejuvenate.
I attribute our inability to rest to what I call the “microwave mentality.”
We want it hot, we want it fast, we want it now.
We compromise good things in favor of instant gratification.
But remember that rainy day veggie soup I mentioned earlier?
My favorite comfort food isn’t something you throw together.
Time is a critical part of the process.
Time that enables me to happily curl up with a favorite book while my dinner cooks slowly on the stove.
This week, I’m issuing a rest challenge.
Even 30 minutes (we’ve got to start somewhere!)
Time to breathe in, breathe out, and honor what God asks us to do: trust in Him to give us rest.
Today, as you pray, ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand the importance of rest, and help you make time for it.
When you rest, ask Him to watch over you and relax in the comfort of knowing your Savior has things under control.