Purposeful Rest

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…” Exodus 20:9-10a

One hundred years ago, in 1925, less than 10 percent of Iowa farms had access to electricity. Though Fairfield had an innovative light tower erected in the square in 1882, (just weeks after Edison provided the first electric lighting for 10 blocks of New York City streets,) it was many years before cities and towns had reliable power throughout their communities.

In 1935 the Rural Electrification Act was passed to help build rural electrification systems for areas like ours in southeastern Iowa. By 1953 ninety percent of rural farms had electricity. This was a huge leap forward. It’s hard to believe that it was less than 100 years ago that people were still needing candles and oil lamps for any illumination beyond that of the moon at night.

One hundred years is a blink of the eye when considering the 6000-year history of humanity. We’re unusually blessed to be living in a time when the busyness of life can go on, unabated, 24 hours a day. Or are we?

The human body wasn’t designed to function productively without rest over long periods of time. Our bodies shut down to gain the rejuvenating benefits of sleep even if we are consciously trying to stay awake. The night was a gift from God to his creatures. It was as if God wanted to be sure we would take a timeout from the good work he also provided to us. He wanted to be sure that we wouldn’t drive ourselves to exhaustion, so he put some boundaries on our productivity.

He also did this in his beautiful command to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. What a gift it is to be told we can take one-seventh of our week to get some needed recovery time. On top of his wonderful darkness and Sabbath rest he gave his people holy days throughout the year. Some of these were a single day, but some were more than a week. These were breaks when his people could express trust in him to care for them while they pulled back from the drive toward productivity. It gave them a window for reflection and an opportunity to pay attention to Him, the Giver of All Things, including rest.

The commandment tells us, “For six days you shall work,” which means that work is a gift and a blessing as well. We should work hard. This caution is for those of us who fail to provide margins in our schedule. Too often, even on vacations, we pack in so much activity that we add to our stress rather than ease it. God wants us to find the healthy work/rest rhythm.

I’m so glad that I live in a time when we have the freedom to function 24/7 and for all the incredible benefits electricity provides to us. I’m not sure if it’s always a blessing, though, when it tempts us to go beyond our physical and spiritual need for rest, rejuvenation and worship. We would be wise to take a lesson from our ancestors who knew no different, and let the darkness, the Sabbath and the holy days strengthen and enliven us, again. What would it be like if you accepted God’s gift of rest more often? Wouldn’t it be nice to find a place where you could experience silence and solitude once in a while?

This, in my opinion, is something the world is hungering and thirsting for. The Father, our Source and Designer, originally provided it for us. Now, we need to choose it.