We all need rest.

Day 21

Ruth 3:1

Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?

We all need rest.

I remember as a young girl when someone died after a long illness or a period of prolonged trial, people would say, “He’s at rest, now.” This usually meant that the person was now free of whatever illness or circumstance they had been facing. Now, at last, nothing was holding them back. All their life’s work, all their suffering in the past, was now behind them. It was no more. They were at rest. They had found rest.

Our God is such a wonderful God! He has many incredibly wonderful attributes. But perhaps one that is seldom mentioned, and I take very seriously, is that He is a God of balance. While we humans like it and often strive for it, it is such a hard thing to achieve. It is either black or white: We are either lazy bums or workaholics.

Work/life balance seems to be a thing these days. People talk about it; books are written about it. Yet so few seem to accomplish it. It is elusive, especially the rest part. So many are the responsibilities we have (some unnecessarily placed on us by us) that it looks like finding rest in life is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Sometimes we all need to take a step back and disconnect. That is why we came up with this thing called vacation, although sometimes a vacation is about everything else but rest. Then, upon returning, we say, “I need a vacation from my vacation.” The problem is that we don’t even know what rest is or where to find it.

Naomi wanted rest for Ruth. Other Bible versions say a home. Could it be that home implies rest? It could not have been easy being a young widow caring for an elderly mother-in-law in a foreign land. I would dare add that Ruth may have felt like she needed to prove herself, or maybe the need was so great that 24/7/365 was not enough, and she worked tirelessly to make ends meet. Who knows?

Naomi had given Ruth the opportunity back in 1:9 to be set free and to go back to her family and country. Later, after Ruth chose to stay, she encouraged her to get a job.

But now it was time to rest. And it may be time for you to rest, too. Have you been working yourself to the grave? Have you experienced a period of suffering, or illness, or mourning? #getittogethergirl It’s time to rest. Take an hour, a day, a week. What do you need? How much time? Breathe. Let God be your rest. Let him restore every cell of your body and make them new. Are you hanging on, thinking you are going to fall into the abyss? Look down. Let go of whatever you are hanging on to. You may find the safe ground is closer than you think.

Dear God, I’ve been hanging on for too long, thinking there is a great abyss below me. I’ve been working hard and long, and I still feel I’ve gone nowhere. My strength is failing, and my hands hurt. Give me the rest that my spirit needs, that my soul needs. I give you everything, and I let myself fall into your loving arms. Thank you for providing the rest for me. No, thank you for being my rest. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

My reflections:

“On the Sabbath they rested...”

Luke 23:56