Eternal Rest

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work."
Genesis 2:2 (NIV)

Ever notice how exhausted you feel after trying to be good enough for God?

Picture God creating the entire universe as He speaks every star into existence, positions every planet perfectly, and breathes life into every creature. After six days of this spectacular work, He stops. Not because He's tired. God is all-powerful and never tires. He rests to teach you something you desperately need to learn.

God introduces a new word into the human vocabulary: rest. Then He makes it a command. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8, ESV) One full day each week, His people were to stop working, not just physically resting, but ceasing from their labors completely.

What’s amazing is that the Sabbath was always pointing to Jesus. Think about the Old Testament believers offering sacrifice after sacrifice, observing feast after feast, and following law after law. Exhausting, with no way to avoid the fatigue.

Then Jesus steps onto the scene as the ultimate sacrifice. He becomes your warrior, fighting the battle with sin you could never win. When Jesus declares "It is finished" from the cross, He means it. No more striving. No more endless efforts to measure up.

When you catch yourself thinking "I should pray more, read more, serve more," stop and remember that Jesus already did more than enough. Rest in Him, your eternal Sabbath.

Prayer: Father, thank You for sending Jesus to do what I could never do. Help me stop striving for approval and instead rest in the finished work of Christ. Teach me to cease from my labors and find my peace in You alone. In Jesus' name, Amen.