An Invitation To Rest
A Time Before Mobile Phone And Tablets
Think back to when you were little, the time before mobile phones and tablets. If you were like me, your mom probably sent you out of the house in the morning and you kept yourself busy with friends until the sun started going down.
Growing up in southeast Texas guaranteed the summer to be hot and humid, so we welcomed any activity to cool us down. We rode our bikes, splashed in our kiddie pools, and pretended we ran the world in my best friend’s clubhouse. The conclusion of the day usually ended by chasing the mosquito man to see who could hold out the longest. How we did not get sick is a conundrum. That often coincided with the time of day when my dad would come driving down the road in his tan Econoline van. I knew this meant I was getting close to the dreaded bedtime.
Yep, that’s us.
As a kid I hated when my parents made me lay down. I did not want to miss anything. Years later, in college, I remember doing endless homework on the couch, and looking up at my dad and asked, “Don’t you need to send me to bed?” Exhausted, I missed the carefree days of my youth, when told to go to bed. I needed rest.
This tiredness exasperated as I had kids of my own, a job, and the everyday busyness I allowed myself to get into. Again, I thought back, where is my dad to tell me it’s bedtime. I wanted permission to not do all the things I thought I needed to do, and just go to sleep and rest.
Rest
This leads us to the seventh letter, the Zayin ז which means to rest. The Zayin ז has the numerical value of seven and we know what happened on the seventh day of creation. God rested.
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
Genesis 2:2-3 NLT
Sabbath
God called this day of rest the sabbath. He felt it was important enough to mention it over 150 times throughout scripture. I will be the first to admit I am not great at observing the sabbath. There is always more work to finish, right? You would think that as much as we all long for rest and vacations, this would be the easiest of the commandments to follow. Our drive to do more and achieve more gets in the way.
I challenge you to take the fourth of the ten commandments seriously. It does not have to be literally the seventh day of the week. Choose one day and make it a time of rest. A day that you remain in His presence.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Exodus 20:8-11 NLT
Peace
Another meaning of the Zayin ז is sword, based on its shape. Scholars say that swords represent peace. We use swords to keep peace when another tries to take it away.
When I asked the Lord to show me what He wanted me to share with you about this letter, He showed me a beautiful picture. The image was of someone resting and an angel standing guard to protect while the individual was asleep. This picture brought me peace. I need this message and I am sure many of you do too.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28 NLT
Rest In Him
Allow the Lord to take your struggles, your worries, the things that keep you awake. Hand them over and rest while He stands guard. Even though my earthly dad is no longer here to tell me to go to bed, I have a heavenly father who invites me to rest and He will watch over me while I sleep.
Before We Conclude…
As we have embarked on this journey through the Hebrew alphabet, I hope you have learned something new and feel closer to the Lord because of it. While we continue through the Hebrew letters, notice how they connect and describe our relationship with the Lord.
We started with the fourth letter, the Daleth ד. The Daleth ד represents an open door. A doorway that invites us into the spiritual realm. When we accept this invitation, we arrive at the fifth letter, the Hei ה. The Hei ה is the presence of God, the breath of God, or that still small voice. The Vav ו follows, reminding us of our connection with God.
To summarize, when we accept the invitation, we go into a sacred place with God, where we can hear Him speak to us. In these moments of closeness, God reminds us of our connection we have with Him. It is here that we can rest and find complete peace.
Thank you for sharing…
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