Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Are You Bad at Resting? | Torah | Genesis 1:31-2:3

Episode Date: January 5, 2022

Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here to grow in your faith this year. Do you consider rest a luxury? When was the last time you really slowed down? Are you ever able to feel fully rested? In today's episode, Jensen Holt McNair looks at Genesis 1:31-2:3 to discover what we can learn from God about resting. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TenMinuteBibleTalks Twitter: https://twitter.com/tmbtpodcast Passages: Genesis 1:31-2:3 Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now.

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmeth. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Jensen Holmickner. And I'm Patrick Miller. We are exploring the first books of the Bible. Right now, we're in Genesis. Over the years, I've signed up for my fair share of email newsletters.

Some, better than others, but most of them don't bring me closer to God. Can you relate? Well, this year, I think it's time we change that. sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks email newsletter. Once a week, you'll get a blessedly short email with guides on spiritual disciplines, inspiring challenges to grow, interesting cultural backgrounds on today's passage, and even quick studies of Hebrew and Greek words. Each week is going to be a little different, and so we're hoping that you're going to love

the variety. So stop what you're doing, click the link in the show notes, and sign up. Now, let's hop into today's episode. You know, I never used to think I had to be a lot. had a problem with rest. Up until this past year, I really believed I was a champion at resting. Naps were my favorite. Saturday afternoons at home catching up on a show were a good book, a standard weekend activity. Then, on the first day of 2021, I found out I was pregnant with my son. So first, I was too sick to rest, then I was too busy worrying about everything we had to get done to

rest, and then I was too uncomfortable to rest. And all of that, this was followed quickly by the birth of our son Jude. And if you've had a newborn or watched a television show or a movie that has depicted the life of a new parent, you'd know that rest is hard to come by. I've forgotten what it's like to say, sleep through the night or take a nap when the feeling strikes. Resting used to be my hobby. I had resting down. Now, rest seems like a luxury. And since not all of us currently have a newborn, I want to say that I don't think this is just a new parent problem. New parent or not, we all live in a culture of hurry. You felt it. There's constant pressure to be doing something. Join a new club. Take on an extra project at work. Spend more time with that one

friend you keep meaning to call. Make another meal for the family. Get the kids involved in another after school activity. Study a little harder for that exam. Rest. Who can rest when there's an endless list of things to be doing. Rest has become a luxury. We'll do it if we have time, but chances are we won't. And that's really okay, right? I mean, the things we're doing, they're important. My son needs to be fed multiple times a night. You want to be faithful in your job or in the classes you're taking. You're supposed to care for your family, your friends. And if that means you've sacrificed a little me time, well, you'll live. busy isn't a crime, is it? Genesis 2-2. By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing.

So, on the seventh day, he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. For many of us, rest seems like a far-off dream, a luxury, which is why when we read this passage in Genesis, it might be might actually be a little frustrating to you. Good for you, God, you got your rest in. But I don't have time for that if I'm supposed to care for all these other things in my life. We end up seeing rest as a suggestion, a luxury that God got, but one we can't afford. But that's backwards, isn't it? Rest wasn't a luxury to God. If we think we're busy, God was busy. He was creating everything. For six days he worked. He had things to do, a world to sustain, creation to create,

and on the seventh day, he rested. He rested because rest isn't a luxury. It's actually a command. It's a necessity. It's holy. See, think back on the passage in Genesis. When God rests on the seventh day, he makes it holy. It's supposed to be a day set apart. And he makes it clear that we're supposed to do the same. In Exodus 20, he makes rest one of the Ten Commandments. We read, remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

I don't know about you, but when I think about the Ten Commandments, I tend to focus on the not lying and stealing and murdering and feel pretty good about myself. Like, I've got the big ones down to memory, but I forget that resting is right there after taking the Lord's name in vain and before honoring your parents. Rest isn't a luxury.

It's a command. See, when we deny ourselves rest because we don't have time for it, not only are we disobeying God's command to rest, but we prove that we have a fundamental misunderstanding of what rest actually is. God didn't command rest just so his people could catch a break, take a breather, or invest in self-care.

No, his goal was far bigger than that. God sets an entire day apart for his people to rest in him, to stop from the work, the lists, the worries, and to be in communion with himself. It was a day set apart to the Lord, our God. When we take part and rest in this, way, it becomes life-giving. It's holy. See, rest might look like taking an hour in the morning to sit alone and spend time reading the words of scripture. It might look like spending time as a

family, hearing about each other's weeks and praying together. Or maybe it's taking a walk with your family and intentionally thanking God for and recognizing the beauty of his creation. See, rest isn't always about taking a nap. It looks different for all of us, but it does mean slowing down, putting away our to-do-lis, and spending intentional time with God. A time set apart to praise him, to thank him, and to enjoy the gifts he's given us. I know it feels like we don't have time to rest, but what if we thought about rest in this way? It isn't selfless to give up rest. It's actually reckless.

It's disobedient. It's something even God wouldn't do. When we say no to rest, we say no to being with our creator. See, I think if we really took a look at our lives, we'd see that we might actually have time to rest. We just tend to fill it with other things. Maybe we need to reevaluate our priorities, carve out time for rest, say no to doing more, even if it comes at a cost. It might mean less intense sports teams for your kids, or not taking the high, profile promotion at work, saying no to the pressure to fill your resume with more activities,

or even just not being as up to date on the newest shows as everyone else. See, this feels difficult because it's radically different than what our culture asks of us. Being obedient to resting in God is probably going to mean sacrificing other things. It's going to mean saying no to a culture of hurry, and it isn't easy, but it's worth it. It's life-giving. I challenge you to set aside time today to think about how and when you can rest this week. Make it a priority. Treat rest like it matters because it does.

Because resting as God commands us to, well, it just isn't a luxury we can afford to miss out on. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help encourage you in the middle of the work week and bring you deep. in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.