“God ended His work . . and He rested.” Genesis 2:2 NKJV
“Your life’s work should be a sense of partnering with God in His will and purpose for you.”
My thoughts today are about the “Sabbath principle.”
Work is an unavoidable and important piece of everyday life; it is just not meant to be the only piece. God gave the first work assignment to Adam. See Genesis 2:8-15. God placed Adam in the midst of a beautiful and bountiful garden and assigned him to partner with God in what He had created, “to tend and to care for it.”
Have you considered that God might have meant for your life’s work to be thought of and carried out as your partnering with Him in His will and purpose in His world and your circle of influence and opportunity? Your work is meant to be your assignment of ministry, and your assignment certainly includes your daily work. When your work is different from your Godly assignment, you will not be as happy nor as fulfilled. Without a sense of assignment, you lack the understanding of what you are doing, the clarity of why you are working, and the conviction of for whom you are doing all this.
Your labor was meant to be fruitful and fulfilling to you – meaningful and productive in what God puts into your hands. If you read Genesis carefully, you will note that labor, as did most of life’s responsibilities, became hard “work” – always a duty, often drudgery. I find it interesting that because of sin, God told the woman that her act of birthing would be with pain, and told man that his work would be with sweat and struggle – both of which we now call “labor.” Read Genesis 3:16/17-19 NLT.
God established a Sabbath principle by His own example and later established the Sabbath principle in His Law, the Ten Commandments – “six days you shall work, and on the seventh, rest.” Read Exodus 20:8-11 NIV. Life is better lived when you make ample room in your schedule by providing place for the principle of sabbath. Life is designed for a natural rhythm of work and rest.
Here is Jesus’ simple, straightforward invitation: “Come to Me, all of you are who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT. Rest does not always come by not doing something; true rest for the soul comes from doing what you should be doing and doing it for the right reasons.
Let me be very practical; when your work becomes unsatisfying, wearying or worrisome to you, God may be warning you about lost perspective and misplaced priorities. If your goals are not being achieved, however hard you work, maybe your goals are not the same as God’s goals for you. When your life feels out of order and control, examine your priorities carefully and honestly to see if they are out of balance.
My prayer for you today is that your work be pleasant and rest not seem wasted time.