Labor Day Rest by Jeff Beman

Exodus 20   8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The terms Labor, Rest, Sabbath, and work, are listed 1,428 times in the ESV bible. That kind of makes this an important subject! One of God’s commandments is to “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.” God commands 1 day in 7 be for rest. We live in a country that also recognizes the value of work, along with the value of rest. On the first Monday in September, Labor Day, our nation will once again celebrate the dignity of labor. There will be parades, picnics, and various special observances. This nation will, as it always has, recognize the importance of hard work.

But what is your first thought about this holiday? For most, it’s probably the gift of a day off from work, with pay. In her book Sacred Rest, Saundra Dalton-Smith, MD, outlines seven types of rest that we all need: physical, mental, sensory, creative, emotional, social, and spiritual rest.

One of our prospective core values here at Lakeside is “We Rest.” What if we used this Labor Day as a time to consider our work and rest schedules in the past and then alter one area that might lead to greater rest in the future?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank you for the blessings of both labor AND rest. Your blessings abound in our lives and You are worthy of all praise. Bless all of us with your protection and mercy as we follow Your will. Amen.