Listen
‘Six days you shall labour, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the ploughing season and harvest you must rest.’ Ex 34:21 (NIVUK)
Reflect
Yes, even during ploughing and harvest.
A few months ago, we were putting together the last arrangements for the Lifesprings’ Weekend Together 2019 in Lyon. Most of the big pieces were in place, but it was that last dash when the whole team was working hard to pull together the details. We were putting in a lot of hours and the deadlines were coming up fast. The temptation from a worldly point of view was to make some motivational speech along the lines of ‘Keep working everyone; this is the final push. Keep on going. Sacrifice everything. We can take a break when it’s done. Let’s push this project through’, but the Lord led us differently and our team lectio divina verse was:
‘Six days you shall labour, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the ploughing season and harvest you must rest.’ Ex 34:21 (NIVUK)
Hmm, suddenly the perspective changed; this was not about an event, this was about honouring the Lord God and being obedient to Him.
If you read this verse in the context of its chapter, you’ll see it’s all about perspective – the perspective that shows how Great and Holy God is. It’s about not forgetting who he is and what he has done, but it’s also about how he cares for us and what is good for us. You see, rest is necessary to make us able to remember Him and to listen to Him and to get things in the right order of priority. Rest allows us to take a step back from our own immediate projects and see the bigger picture – the picture in which perfectionist pride is proven pointless and the Kingdom of God is the only objective. Our focus is lifted from ourselves and we realize it is God who deserves our full attention and the fruit of our labour.
Prayer of Response
“Friends, let us not idolize output or our own performance, but may we stop and worship the One who is holy. May we step back from our own details and open our eyes to the infinite, Eternal Lord, that we might know him and love him and honour him.”
—Submitted by Sylvana Botterill
Sylvana is the director of the Lifesprings Weekend Together. She is currently in transition from France to England with her husband and three school aged children, waiting to see what the next chapter will hold.
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