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There’s one principle we see throughout Scripture. God has ordained periods of rest for us. He made sure in the law of the Old Testament that the people took one day out of seven for absolute rest. He established the Year of Jubilee, when every seven years the land would be rested for one full year so that it could refresh itself. God knows that we must have periods of rest for bodies and minds that get tired.
I know that when I’m tired, I need encouragement. When people are tired, that is not the time to offer advice or criticism, or start making plans for the future. It is a time to simply encourage. So, today I want to give you some encouragement.
First, let me read a poem that really encourages me:
Dear child, God does not say today, “Be strong;”
He knows your strength is spent; He knows how long
The road has been, how weary you have grown,
For He who walked the earthly roads alone,
Each bogging lowland, and each rugged hill,
Can understand, and so He says, “Be still,
And know that I am God.” The hour is late,
And you must rest awhile, and you must wait
Until life’s empty reservoirs fill up
As slow rain fills an empty upturned cup.
Hold up you cup, dear child, for God to fill.
He only asks today that you be still.
Grace Noll Crowell
Nothing can fill that cup like God’s Word, so let me leave you with some priceless treasures from the Bible straight to your tired and weary body and mind:
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:28-31).
Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
