{This post is part of my 31 Day blog series Work Hard + Rest Well: Learning Obedience in the Rhythms of Work and Rest.}
“And on the seventh day God finished His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.”
Genesis 2:2
First God worked.
And then He rested.
The pattern is spelled out plain and simple in the first chapter of our Bibles.
Work then Rest
Work then Rest
It’s not a multitasking ‘both, and’…
It’s one and then the other.
Both at different times.
Because I’ve learned that it’s impossible to multitask work and rest.
And I tried. I tried to multitask my work and rest. I tried to do both. I tried to make my work easier. I tried to work slowly and quietly, and expected that the work would also be my rest.
But it failed.
I was wholly unfulfilled.
I was wholly exhausted.
And I wondered why. Why was I exhausted, yet with nothing accomplished?
And the answer found me in Exodus…
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 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…For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.”
Exodus 20:8-11
Our God didn’t work half-hearted or halfway.
He worked.
And He worked hard.
And He worked well.
And the result of His work was good.
And I didn’t want to start in this place because it’s painful.
And I fought the truth because I didn’t want to hear it.
And I tried to push through until I was broken.
Because working hard is…hard.
Because hard work never sounds fun or enticing or easy.
And it’s not. But it’s good. And it’s fulfilling.
Because we were created to work hard.
Because we were created in God’s image. And the first example we see of God is Him working.
I tend to think that work is a necessary evil. We do it because we need to, but only as much as is absolutely necessary. But that is not how God views work.
Work was not a part of the curse; work was part of us being made in the image of God.
And God gave us work as gift…the gift of His nature in us.
And we cannot accurately express the nature of our God in this world unless we work as He worked, unless we embrace the work He has put before and do it well.
But the greatest mystery is this:
We cannot work well or find fulfillment in our work apart from God.
The gift of work is from God, but so is the resulting fulfillment.
So let’s head into today ready to work for His glory, by His strength. Let’s plan to live out His character in our work, through His spirit enabling us.
Be blessed
<3
