Work and Rest

Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest. Exodus 34:21 NJKV

Work is a good thing. Work is in the will of God. It is a way we honor and obey God. Work is a blessing. If we are out of work, we can ask God to lead us and to provide us with honorable work that will glorify Him.

Work makes us active, productive, and useful instead of passive, idle, and dependent upon on others. It provides a way of expressing our gifts and talents, it inspires creativity, it helps to develop character, it brings new relationships into our lives, and it gives us the satisfaction of doing a job to the very best of our ability. When we receive and recognize that our work is a gift from God we have no reason to grumble and complain about our work.

It is also good to remember that the God who wants us to work also wants us to rest. Even though His will is for us to work, He does not want us to be consumed with our work or to have our work consume us. Rest is another way of reminding us that God is reasonable and considerate. He does not treat us like machines, but like people who have physical, mental, and emotional limitations. In God’s plan, one day of rest will refresh our spirits, renew our minds, and restore to us the strength we will need for the week ahead.

Lord, thank you for the wisdom of your ways. Thank you that you know what is best for me. Thank you for giving me the strength to work and the opportunity to do it. Help me to work when I work, and to rest when I rest. Bring my life into a proper balance and help me to keep a quiet heart in all I do.