Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - How to Rest Well | Torah | Exodus 20:8-11, 23:10-19, 31:12-18

Episode Date: June 21, 2022

Do you ever feel like you just need a break? What kind of rest do you need? Is there a "right" way to rest? Should you take a sabbath? In today's episode, Tanya discusses the fourth commandment and explores why God commands rest. 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. 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 Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Exodus 20:8-11, 23:10-19, 31:12-18 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 in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmeth, and right now we're in the book of Exodus. Do you go to bed only to wake up the next day feeling tired and stressed and anxious? We go through life feeling tired, and we think we're not getting enough sleep. But in reality, there are other types of rest we're missing out on that we desperately need. It's not just sleep. So Dr. Sondra Dalton Smith wrote a book called Sacred Rest, and she actually identifies seven areas of rest our bodies need, and only one of those is physical sleep. Yes, our culture tends to promote a lifestyle of high achievement and productivity.

So we become burned out anxious producers, and we instinctively know we need to stop and slow down long enough to calm our thoughts and rekindle our passions and our creativity. But we feel like doing it is counterproductive. So according to Dr. Smith, there are six types of rest beyond just physical rest or sleep. She says we need mental rest. These are breaks that allow our brain to just slow down. We need sensory rest. This is like an intentional deprivation of stimulus to intentionally draw away from our overstimulating world of noise, buzz, and electronics.

Creative rest. We need time to. enjoy nature and art and the outdoors. We need emotional rest. That would be like stepping away from people pleasing, from meeting expectations, from navigating how other people are feeling, let alone yourself.

We need social rest. And that's where you have a time to just differentiate between relationships that actually fill your cup and those that kind of deplete and take energy away. And she says we need spiritual rest. And this is where she says we tune ourselves to a deeper sense of purpose and belonging.

Okay, so those are according to her. She's a specialist on rest, NMD, in fact. But I wonder which of those you're needing most right now. So the word rest comes from the longer and bigger word restoration. We do know we need it. And yeah, we're learning new things we can do and ways we can put technology to work for us so we can work smarter and more creatively. I have a friend who works on 25-minute blocks, where she sets a timer and writes for 25 minutes and then takes five-minute breaks.

I have another friend who writes deep work into her scheduling. That's what it's called on her calendar and builds in two to three hours of uninterrupted time for the tasks that take the most mental energy and then takes a break afterward. We have smart watches that buzz our wrist and tell us to get up and move. It's fascinating, though, that God was the first and ultimate. scheduleer of rest. Today, we're talking about the Fourth Commandment. God said, remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. So let's talk about what the Sabbath is and what it's not. The Sabbath is a unique Israelite institution, and creation is the timeline and is the rationale behind it. The seventh day of each week is intentionally set aside and invested in blessing and holiness

in a way that allows us to follow God's pattern for the way he completed creation and rested on the seventh day. God created and commanded the Sabbath for the purpose of setting aside time to recognize our unique belonging and dependence on him. For instance, when the Israelites were in the wilderness, God gave them mana each morning, but on the sixth day they were together enough mana for that day and the next.

This manna dependence called Israel to recognize their own weakness in midst of God's provision and power. It's intended to transform a mundane existence into a spiritual experience one day each week as the Israelites and as we trust God to provide for us. So remember the Sabbath and keep it holy by following a pattern of six days of work and one day of rest for the Israelites each week was marked with a transformation, a transformation out of daily work and mundane activity into a joyful spiritual experience with their creator. Even the land was supposed to rest after six years, and debts were supposed to be forgiven after six years. The Sabbath on the seventh is part of God's plan for restoration, and that's where we get our word rest. God gave us the Sabbath for our flourishing.

But just like everything God has given us, we have misused and deformed the Sabbath in ways that take us further from God instead of closer to him. Okay, for example, when I was a little girl, my grandparents went into a church that wouldn't allow its members to go out to eat on Sundays. As a result, my grandmother prepared all the food for the family, a task she probably enjoyed, but once she had, had to do that day, so it wouldn't be defiled by going out to eat. I wonder, what was the point of

that? Who was really getting the glory? According to Hebrews, observing the Fourth Commandment to keep the Sabbath holy is not about obeying a set of rules or mandates on a specific day, but a way of remembering and honoring our identity in Christ. As God rested on the seventh day of creation, we identify with our Creator when we enter into His rest. And from Hebrews 4, entering into God's rest is the opposite of striving towards something. It's the receiving, the receiving of a gift that's already been given. It's the taking and the opening and the using of the gift of rest that we've been given through Christ.

It is to rest in his forgiveness and to have confidence in his power. resting then is something we can do and something we should do as a result of Christ. Because of Christ, we can rest in God's mercy and grace, not striving towards salvation, but in confidence that we have been saved. We can rest in God's power, not always working or thinking, but knowing that God is sovereign and always working for our good. Hebrews 4 contrast those who are at rest with those whose hearts are hardened and live in disobedience. The fall has made rest really difficult for us because it feels like weakness.

It feels like unproductiveness when we consider it from our me-centered perspectives. But from a divine perspective, rest is a break. It's a break from wanting more out of ourselves and out of our worldly life. It's less of an investment in this kingdom and more of a future deposit of trust and faith in God's kingdom. God commands the Sabbath to connect us with him as the source and provider of everything we need and as the reason for everything we do. In a way, it's intentionally meant to make us feel weak because we are. And it helps us be more comfortable and more restful in our weakness as we recognize who God is and who we are not. Okay, so practically.

I'll just share a few things that I've heard people learning and things I'm learning, but things that I'm talking about with others. Ways to rest. First, make connecting with God corporately a priority. Prioritize church. Prioritize small group and community. Go to your small group on Sunday night or Tuesday night or Friday at lunch, even if you could get other things done.

or especially if you're wanting to get other things done. Your heart needs it and you will be glad you did it. Second, connect with God physically. Your body was made to move and made to rest. My friend, she makes time to run two or three times a week even though she has four really little kids because when she started running again, she and her husband both realized she was a better mom.

Now maybe running isn't your thing, but how can you get away from your responsibility in a way that works for your body. Three, connect with God mentally. I actually like to read the Bible, but I also kind of have to read the Bible. I'm taking a break this summer by reading poetry about the Bible.

I'm reading this book by Paul David Tripp, and it's called My Heart Cries Out. And the poetry speaks to me because the words are chosen so carefully. It's like art and music mixed into one. But the point is, taking a mental break from something that I have to do to really enjoy it instead. Lastly, take time away from social media, from news, from Netflix.

That's always a good idea. You don't have to do everything and you don't have to know everything. That's the better left to God. God gave us the example and command to rest so we can have less and experience more. more dependence, more peace, and more joy from depending on him. Before you forget, sign up for the brand new TMBT newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help you beat the midweek slump and go deeper in your walk with Jesus.

Thanks for listening.