Is Sunday Your Only Day of Rest?
Rest. What is rest exactly?
According to my twenty year old Webster's Dictionary, there are about eighteen different definitions for the word rest. It really depends on the context you use it in what the definition is. It can mean anything from not working, to sleeping, to recuperating or just relaxing, to name just a few. In music, it means to wait a beat or two. The symbol used to indicate where you are to take this action or basically inaction is called a rest.
I remember when I was a child growing up in a very small western town, there wasn't much open on Sunday. You'd better get everything you needed for Sunday dinner before Sunday or you were out of luck. We went to church on Sunday morning and home for dinner afterwards. You might be invited to someone's house for dinner or have company yourself, but there were no restaurants or cafes, as we called them, open. Not to mention if you needed gas for your vehicle, none of the stations were open. The owners were all in church. Looking back, it seems that resting on Sunday was pretty much enforced naturally. Then, slowly but surely, the regularly accepted Sunday day of rest began to be just another workday.
In today's society there is not very many opportunities for rest, as defined, much less on Sunday. Rest can be defined as quiet, tranquility, or peacefulness. How many of us experience that? The other day when my little boy came home from school, we settled in the living room and he was playing quietly with some toys on the couch, while I looked through his school papers. There were no electronics on and it was peaceful and calm. He commented on how quiet it was, and we both agreed it was kind of nice. It wasn't long before the phone rang or the dog barked or the outside world filtered in, but for that few minutes we were at rest.
So how about it, is Sunday your only day of rest? Whether you have read the Holy Bible yourself, or just heard the creation story, you know that on the seventh day God rested. He worked at His creation of the heavens and the earth for six days and when His foundation was complete, He rested. After that seventh day in which He rested, He formed man and woman and all living creatures. Did He rest after this was done? One would like to think so, but if you really think about it, probably not. There is a poem I've read that says when the person saw only one set of footprints during the rough times of his life it was because God was carrying him. Would you call that rest?
If you have a personal relationship with God, you know that He is watching over you at all times. In His Word it says that He will never leave us alone, or turn His back on us. He will never leave me, nor forsake me. Since anyone who has a personal relationship with God has this assurance, it doesn't sound as if God gets much rest. We, on the other hand, should be able to shut out the world at any given moment and rest in God's arms. There is nothing that affects us that God can not and will not handle if we only ask Him. You don't have to be in a church building, or on your knees, or even have your head bowed or eyes closed. Just whisper a prayer in your heart and God will hear and respond. Now keep in mind that He may not respond as you think He should, but He will respond.
So, is Sunday your only day of rest? I hope not. My personal goal is to rest in the arms of my Savior twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. I know it takes practice, work and dedication, but if I put forth the effort, I will obtain that ease, peacefulness, calmness, and assurance also known as rest.