God's Prophetic People - A People of Passion, Purpose And Power

God's Prophetic People

III. RESTORING HOLY PASSION A. RESTING Today we live in a very hectic culture. It’s as if we are never caught up--we are always on the go. If this continues for too long, we will be faced with burn out. If there is one thing a lot of us could use, it’s a little rest. Is rest biblical? Do you feel guilty taking a couple of days off in a row? Do you feel guilty taking a long-awaited vacation with your family?

The Bible has something to say about rest. Without rest,

certain things could begin to surface in your life, such as:

• Becoming weak and worn out, you become more susceptible to illnesses • Becoming more irritable, short fused, etc. • Becoming extremely burnt out, and inevitably non-useful.

God Himself rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3; Ex.16:21-23). This implies that He did in fact have work to do, yet there was also a time of rest. The Lord Himself puts such a strong emphasis on this that He actually commands that we take a rest. One of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:8 is “to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” The people of Israel were not to work on the Sabbath day — they were to rest. Proper rest provides: 1. A time of refreshment. All of us, to one degree or another, need to be refreshed. This will come as we take time out from our business. Just as an athlete takes a time out to regain strength and strategize, so we as servants of God need to take a time out periodically. 2. A time to evaluate previous tasks (Gen. 1:18) After you build something (house or a project), you can sit back and enjoy it.

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A People of Passion, Purpose, and Power / © Brian Daehn