It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.
My mother worked so hard. She hardly took time off for relaxation that finally stroke had to. This is a woman who like to do everything for herself, a real perfectionist. If she wasn't doing it, she had to supervise it. I remember very clearly in 1983 as if it was just yesterday; that very faithful morning when my mother was getting ready for church and for the very first time something happened that will change all of our lives for good. She couldn't tie her tiny string on her Kaba a sort of African attire wore by many African women mainly for church services, for special and causal occasions. Prior to this day, she had been to see Dr Phillip two weeks before and he said to take sometime off work if not she is likely to have a stroke. She was giving some medication and was asked to come back after a week. You know what she did? She didn't go back to the doctor because she felt a lot better and didn't think the needed to neither to take time off work to rest as she was directed by her doctor. To cut the long story short two weeks after she went to see the doctor, she was strike down with a stroke.
I was twelve years old and very heart broken none of my older sisters or anyone in my family knew anything about this illness or had any experiences of anyone ever having it. I remember as time went on we realised we had to treat her as though everything was normal so wouldn't be depressed. I recall joking with her saying all the holidays and rest you refused to take, God is using this period to give you a first class vacation and I only pray and hope you will for once just trust Him enough to let Him be in control and enjoy this rest and relaxtion graciously. She just smiled, don't get me wrong my mother was a woman of faith, serious and a very good Christian. But you see the trouble is a lot of us Christians are like my mother was, women and men of faith yet we just find it so difficult to trust Him with absolutely everything just enough to set aside time for rest. Most times we don't even know we are doing it, it's usually a subconscious thing.
Rest is so important that God even made it a commandment. When we life our lives completely and solely dependant on our human efforts to the extent of neglecting rest we are implying we don't trust God enough. God is not against our human effort or hard work. Rather He cares and loves us so much that He wants to gives us rest from all the labouring we do to keep up His work, our families and communities because we need spiritual refreshment and adequate times of rest from time to time. Be careful to maintain a balance life by entrusting your businesses, jobs, family lives and give God the chance to give you that rest you so need from time to time to take your mind off the million and one things you are so occupy with.
Reflections:
Are you like many other Christians using work as a cover-up for your inability to trust God?
Power verses:
"Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust,..."--Psalm 40:4
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.--Jeremiah 17:7
"You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety."-- Job 11:18
2011 By Enyonam Gbekle. All rights reserved.
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