Many days it feels like the weight of the world is on our shoulders. It’s up to us to face the daily fears and uncertainties of life – securing the life we desire and providing for the needs of our family. And while it’s true much is required of us. It’s also true we can rest in the hands of a good, good Father.
It’s clear, the burden to build and provide, to protect and create the atmosphere for others to thrive has been given to us.
And many days this requires us to sacrifice our creature comforts and engage in night work – work often unseen and underappreciated by others.
But despite this cost, we believe our efforts are worth it, and so we press on.
And, to be sure, much good is accomplished by being so driven.
At the same time, we start to experience diminishing returns when we come to believe all of life is depended on us.
We’ve gone too far when we believe our world will come crashing down without us at the center holding everything up.
This is in part why God has given us the Sabbath. Yes, to rest and recover our depleted energies. But, perhaps more so, to remember that he is God, and we are not.
We don’t have to worry about trying to keep everything together ourselves. It is Christ who sustains everything by the power of his word.
And, as such, we can rest in his good hands.
This doesn’t mean we become lazy and neglect our responsibilities. But it does mean we can engage faithfully with a settled confidence. And demonstrate our faith by regularly taking some time off.
Our world is sure to come crashing down when we live by our strength alone. But we find life to the full when we remember to rest in God.
In the end, work hard. But take the pressure off your shoulders to do it all. Learn to rest in the good hands of our good God.
Photo by Jeremy Perkins on Unsplash
