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So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Genesis 2:3 (ESV)
I pulled off my first all-nighter during my freshman year in college. My procrastination left me no choice but to forfeit sleep in order to write an entire research paper on developmental psychology in 6 hours. I’d rather not share my grade with you, but I will share that my dependency on coffee was birthed that week for obvious reasons. 10 years and 3 kids later, I now have a few more all-nighters under my belt and I am definitely still dependent on coffee for energy. Caffeine and a good nap can only do so much; there has to be a much better “fuel” to keep us going in all our unending responsibilities. Perhaps, more so than a restful nap, there is much to gain from the rest God offers us. In Genesis 1 and 2, God creates the world in 6 days and on the 7th day, He rests. God rests not because He was fatigued, but because His work of laying the foundation of the world was complete and it was time to implement this day of rest- which is not followed by the previous 6-day patterned “evening and morning”. It’s as if this 7th day is intended to have no end. He then commissions the pinnacle of His creation, image-bearing mankind, to work. God gives mankind the responsibility to steward His creation by being fruitful, multiplying, having dominion, and subduing. This wasn’t meant to be exhausting work; it was meant to be within the bounds of God’s unending day of rest. Due to the effects of the Fall, our responsibilities are tainted by sin, full of pain and toil, disconnected from our intended source of rest. But God did not leave this problem without a solution. Almost immediately after the Fall, God promises One who will restore mankind back to His rest. Jesus’ finished work makes a way for us to enter into this Rest. While my poor choices might result in another fatigued/highly caffeinated day or two, I know that my ultimate fuel comes from my God- my source of rest and strength. God, thank you for being my ultimate source of fuel as I steward my life well for you.
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