by Naomi Moon

Joyfully Rest

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link.

“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest.”
Hebrews 4:9-11a English Standard Version

I was on a vacation for two weeks, traveling around to see friends and family, taking a much-needed break from the busyness of life. There was time for peaceful conversation, personal prayer, and daily play with my children. Vacation does not come stress free, but it can offer a reset to the average days. Coming home, I found this beautiful new leaf on my Monstera. When I am at home every day, I look to see what new things are happening with my plants, and it’s hard to see any change with constant attention. When being forced to be away and take some rest, I come home to new things, new life. 

This vacation reminds me of the rest we have in God. We imitate him in his Creation by having times of work, and times of rest and play. We strive in our daily habits to be more like Christ, to set aside time for prayer and rest. Even if we do not have vacations often, we have the rhythms of daily work and rest, and weekly time in His Word and Sacraments on Sundays in church or through personal devotion. This type of rest is a spiritual discipline, something that needs to be practiced in order to truly see the value. When we practice rest, prayer, and space we can come back to new life and new joys in our daily work.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado