God rested and was refreshed? I read this the other day in Exodus 31 as it described how God created the world in 6 days and then on the 7th day rested and was refreshed. I was taken back by the idea that God was refreshed. This God that does not grow weary rested and was refreshed. My first thought was doesn't the idea of being refreshed indicate one has become tired? I mean, I can't begin to imagine how exhausting it would be to create the entire universe. I get exhausted just trying to manage my little world. God's never ending galactic frontier is anything but little and I cannot fathom the energy it took to bring it all into existence. I know, He's God and there wasn't a need for the latest sports drink to replenish all the electrolytes He lost over the course of those 6 days, but hey this was still a huge undertaking. "...for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:17).
I know I'm going to date myself here, but when I think of the concept of being refreshed, images of the old Nestea commercials with the people doing the Nestea plunge race through my head. For those who have no clue what I'm talking about, those commercials showed people sweating from a hard days work drinking a glass of iced Nestea plunging backward into a swimming pool. The idea was this glass of ice tea was a great refreshing break from hard work. I love southern sweet iced tea as much as anybody, but somehow this idea of God being refreshed has got to be a bit more than taking a sip of instant ice tea.
At least that's what I thought. But the word refreshed here means to breath. To sit down, take a break, and just breath. It paints a picture of one ceasing from work and taking a break so that they can be breathed on or into. This reminds me of how God breathed into Adam the breath of life and He came alive. Also, when Jesus breathed on the disciples giving them "new life." In His resting on the 7th day, God shows us a key to living in which we circumvent exhaustion, burnout, and weariness. He shows us that the breath of life or refreshing comes from a place of rest.
God rested and the world He had created didn't come crashing to the ground. Jupiter did not bump into Mars and this planet in which we live did not quit spinning. The world managed to make it through His day of rest. If you're like me, you struggle to take time to just rest. Truly rest. Sure, you may get a day off of work, but then there's all the work to do around the house. Our to-do lists are way too long and they never get done. There are tons of voices screaming for our attention and too often the urgent takes priority over the important and necessary. In the middle of all those voices is one distinct voice and its pleading for us to sit down and breath. To take a break from the madness and refresh. This voice comes with a promise to bless both our rest and our work. Yet, too often we neglect that voice and plow through until we are long past the point of needing to just be refreshed. I'm wondering how prideful and arrogant it is of us to see God's design for how to do life and refuse to do life that way? It's as if we are saying to Him, "I know a better way."
God rested and was refreshed. His refreshing comes no other way. We have to simply come to the place where we trust that if we take our hands off of our world for a day, all will be ok. It's learning to trust that God's got this and that His ways work better than our ways. Weariness comes from our refusal to submit to His way of doing life. He's waiting for each of us to simply sit down at His feet so that He can breath life into us. Want to be refreshed? Trust me, Nestea is not the answer. Not only does it not come with a swimming pool, take it from me a southern sweet tea connoisseur, instant tea tastes horrible. But come taste and see that the Lord is good!!!
I know I'm going to date myself here, but when I think of the concept of being refreshed, images of the old Nestea commercials with the people doing the Nestea plunge race through my head. For those who have no clue what I'm talking about, those commercials showed people sweating from a hard days work drinking a glass of iced Nestea plunging backward into a swimming pool. The idea was this glass of ice tea was a great refreshing break from hard work. I love southern sweet iced tea as much as anybody, but somehow this idea of God being refreshed has got to be a bit more than taking a sip of instant ice tea.
At least that's what I thought. But the word refreshed here means to breath. To sit down, take a break, and just breath. It paints a picture of one ceasing from work and taking a break so that they can be breathed on or into. This reminds me of how God breathed into Adam the breath of life and He came alive. Also, when Jesus breathed on the disciples giving them "new life." In His resting on the 7th day, God shows us a key to living in which we circumvent exhaustion, burnout, and weariness. He shows us that the breath of life or refreshing comes from a place of rest.
God rested and the world He had created didn't come crashing to the ground. Jupiter did not bump into Mars and this planet in which we live did not quit spinning. The world managed to make it through His day of rest. If you're like me, you struggle to take time to just rest. Truly rest. Sure, you may get a day off of work, but then there's all the work to do around the house. Our to-do lists are way too long and they never get done. There are tons of voices screaming for our attention and too often the urgent takes priority over the important and necessary. In the middle of all those voices is one distinct voice and its pleading for us to sit down and breath. To take a break from the madness and refresh. This voice comes with a promise to bless both our rest and our work. Yet, too often we neglect that voice and plow through until we are long past the point of needing to just be refreshed. I'm wondering how prideful and arrogant it is of us to see God's design for how to do life and refuse to do life that way? It's as if we are saying to Him, "I know a better way."
God rested and was refreshed. His refreshing comes no other way. We have to simply come to the place where we trust that if we take our hands off of our world for a day, all will be ok. It's learning to trust that God's got this and that His ways work better than our ways. Weariness comes from our refusal to submit to His way of doing life. He's waiting for each of us to simply sit down at His feet so that He can breath life into us. Want to be refreshed? Trust me, Nestea is not the answer. Not only does it not come with a swimming pool, take it from me a southern sweet tea connoisseur, instant tea tastes horrible. But come taste and see that the Lord is good!!!
