Journeying in Genesis: Purpose in Rest

“So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,

because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

Genesis 2:3

I was pondering truths from our time in creation day seven this morning when I peeked into a wren’s nest in a plant on my deck. They’re hard to observe because they build dome shamed nests with a small opening. I can’t capture it on camera, but I’ve spotted a wide-open baby’s mouth, and this morning the watchful sweet face of the mother.

What a precious picture of rest. Sometimes we think if we’re not moving and shaking, we’re not being fruitful. But if this mother bird moved and shook instead of sitting patiently, watchfully, and expectantly in her nest, she would not accomplish her reason for the work she had done. As we’ve learned, rest isn’t just the result of being tired. Rest has purpose.

Years ago I felt the Lord was calling me to “rest the land” of Abide in Him. The ministry had a lot going on, but I was sitting at the piano when I believed He confirmed the sabbatical. I looked it up and realized it was our sixth anniversary. He was calling a rest for the seventh year! That evening, I went to a retreat where my now dear friend, Muriel Cash, was speaking. As she mentioned the importance of rest I heard her say, “It’s like when you sit down at the piano…” All ears, I received her citation of John Ruskin’s quote, “There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it.”