My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray…they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place. —Jeremiah 50:6
Labor Day. A holiday celebrating laborers; a day of rest. Yet how many of us actually do rest?
As I look out at the trees with their open, golden-puffed arms, standing serenely, I am secretly saddened again by a mind-set that I’ve felt since childhood: the widespread admiration for overwork.
“She has high blood pressure,” the ladies would whisper. “Works all the time. House neat as a pin.” Amazingly, this was supposed to be a compliment. I was a child then; I thought high blood pressure was a desirable trait.
“He’s a workaholic,” an office colleague recently intimated, adding, “I wish I was more that way myself!”
Many people (myself included) feel guilty or lazy if we sit and “do nothing.” We’re all so busy. Is it any wonder that some have the feeling that God is too busy for them? But nowhere in Scripture do I find God to be a rushing, hurrying, hard-pressed God; His handiwork—from plant to planet—travels serenely within its cycle. Ought we to be so different?
Please, this Labor Day, really rest. I plan to stare long at the trees. Really taste my toast and coffee. Read my Bible not with a prescribed amount in mind, but letting a verse or two sink slowly into my heart until the special meaning comes up like tiny bubbles to delight me.
Why don’t we do this more often?
Dear Lord, rest is not laziness. Help me to remember this as I find ways to gather serenity for myself and my family.
