Our personal batteries can wear down too, can't they? Unfortunately, our bodies don't give us the low power warning that my Apple Watch gives me. Many things drain our personal batteries - work, raising our kids, the world in general. On a personal note, I'd like to salute those parents who are both working full time from home and homeschooling their kids during this pandemic. That would drain my batteries for sure.
Psalm 121:4 reads, "Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." But there was one time God did rest - on the seventh day after He created everything. Genesis 2:2 reads, "And on the seventh day God ended His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done." That was a lot of work. God deserved a rest.
Since Jesus was part human, His batteries occasionally ran down too, especially with all the healing and the teaching that He did. In Matthew 8:23-27 (and also Mark 4:35-41 and Luke 8:22-25), Jesus and the disciples were in a boat on the sea, and Jesus was asleep. Suddenly, a storm came up which scared the disciples. Jesus obviously slept very soundly, for the disciples had to wake Him up. So a good, deep sleep helped Jesus recharge his batteries.
Jesus also recharged his batteries by going up on the mountain by Himself to pray. We see this in Matthew 14:23 and Mark 1:35. Jesus spent time talking to His Father. This helped give Jesus the power for what He needed to do.
God knew when He made us that we would need to recharge our batteries on a regular basis. That's why He created the Sabbath day, which is mentioned for the first time in Exodus 16:23. The Sabbath correlates to the seventh day that God rested after He created everything. We Gentiles have made Sunday our rest day since Jesus rose from the grave on that day. In Exodus chapters 31 and 35, you can read about all the Sabbath laws that the Jewish people had to follow.
True rest, however, is found in Jesus. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus says the following: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Since Jesus is our rest, we don’t have to follow all of the Sabbath rules.
So what should we do on Sundays since we don’t have to follow the Sabbath rules? If you aren’t sick, you should attend a worship service. Worshipping the Lord will bring peace to your soul. Meeting up with fellow Christians at church is a good way to recharge your batteries. Spend time with God by reading His Word and praying. A regular day of the week to unwind and recharge your batteries is essential for all aspects of your health.
But what if you can’t wait until Sunday to recharge your batteries? What if you’re so exhausted you just can’t function? Even if you have to lock yourself in the bathroom or go down to the basement, you need a break. You need to get away and spend time with the Father in prayer. Jesus spent time with His Father in prayer, and you should too.
Sometimes when I get that low power message on my Apple Watch, I can’t put it on its charger right away. If I let the low power message stay on for too long, it takes much longer to recharge the watch than it normally would. That can happen to our bodies too. If we don’t take regular breaks to recharge our bodies and our minds, we can become physically and mentally ill, and it takes us much longer (and maybe even a hospital stay) to get our batteries recharged. So make time to recharge your batteries!
Thanks as always for reading! See you next time!
Diane
