It is very hard not to be busy. Being busy has become a status symbol.

People expect us to be busy and to have many things on our minds. . .

Being busy and being important often seem to mean the same thing.

In our production-oriented society, being busy, having an occupation,

has become one of the main ways, if not the main way, of identifying

ourselves. Henri Nouwen, Making All Things New

  Then the Lord said to Moses: Say to the Israelites: ‘You must

observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you

for the generations to come, so you may know I am the Lord,

who makes you holy. Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to

you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever

does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. For

six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of

rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath

day must be put to death. The Israelites are to observe the

Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting

covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever,

for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on

the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’ Exodus 31:12-17 (NIV)

ReleaseResting is tied to faith. When we rest,

we acknowledge that all our striving

will, of itself, do nothing. It means

letting the world pass us by for a

time. Genuine rest requires

acknowledgement that God, and our

brothers and sisters, can survive

without us. It requires a recognition

of our own insufficiency and a

handing over of responsibility. It is a

real surrender to the ways of God. It

is a moment of celebration when we

acknowledge that blessing comes

only from the hand of God. This is

why rest requires faith.Paul Marshall, Calling, Work and Rest

If you watch your step on the

Sabbath and don’t use my holy

day for personal advantage, if

you treat the Sabbath as a day

of joy, GOD’s holy day as a

celebration, if you honor it by

refusing ‘business as usual,’

making money, running here

and there – Then you’ll be free

to enjoy God! Isaiah 58:13-14, The Message

Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We miss the

compass points that would show us where to go, we bypass

the nourishment that would give us succor. We miss the quiet

that would give us wisdom. We miss the joy and love born of

effortless delight. Poisoned by this hypnotic belief that good

things come only through unceasing determination and tireless

effort, we can never truly rest. And for want of rest our lives

are in danger.Wayne Muller, Sabbath