Experiencing Rest

December is a busy month. Parties, shopping, Christmas cards, kids’ activities, travel, and everyday normal stuff. God didn’t come to the world so that we would be busy, distracted, and tried. God came to the world so that we could be focused and rested.

God Says

And Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. –Mark 2:27

Something to Think About

God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. Humans are created in God’s image and are in a continuing process of being restored into God’s image. Sabbath is part of what restores humans to God’s image. Sabbath is the refusal to let one’s life be defined by consumption and production. It is making space for God and others and self. Learning that you don’t have to do to be. And accepting the grace of doing nothing. It is taking some time each day, each week, and each year to trust that we can do more with God than we can without God.

Individual or Family Activity

Spend focused time with God and / or loved ones. Be intentional. Eliminate your access to distractions. Disconnect from the world and connect to God and / or loved ones.

Individual or Family Prayer

Dear God,

Let this day be comprised of moments that

Sustain rather than stress

Fill-up rather than empty

Restore rather than weaken

Set me free from habits that disconnect me from You and others

        Too much attention to unimportant things

A calendar that is too full

Constant distractions

Let me come to You and embrace Your rest for my soul

For things that waste my time let me release

For a life that is too busy let me cease

For time filled with interruptions and diversions give me peace

In my life of stress let me experience your lifeline of grace

Replenish my body and my relationships

Renew my mind and my attitude

Restore my soul

Amen.