**Sip Saturday is written by our Saturday morning contributor, M.H. Elrich. A beautifully gifted Christian author who seeks to honor the Trinity in her writing. She hopes that her words will encourage women to draw closer to God, whether that is through her fantasy series or her weekly devotionals.
Cornerstone Scripture:
“So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.”
-Hebrews 3:11 KJV
I sat up, bleary-eyed. The alarm clock stared at me. 11:00 P.M. I had only been asleep for two hours. I groaned, went to the bathroom, and tried to sleep again. I tossed and turned for thirty minutes before falling asleep. 3:00 A.M. I woke up again. My mind raced, thinking about everything that I had to do that day. I tried to shut it off and go to sleep, but I couldn’t. Desperate, I grabbed my phone, plugged in my earphones, and played a podcast. I listened to it and fell asleep again. 6:00 A.M. I gave up trying to sleep more.
Sleepless nights like these happened for weeks. There were some nights I was lucky to get two hours of sleep at a time. I would go to bed early because I wanted to have more time to try to sleep. This happened so often that I would feel shaky and weak almost every single day. Sometimes, I wondered if I was having a heart attack. This was after cutting out caffeine completely, in a desperate ploy to sleep.
For most of my life, I slept easily. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I would dream until midnight, where I would rise to use the restroom and swiftly go back to sleep. This past summer and some of the fall, my nights looked like what I just narrated. Sleep was elusive, and I was afraid to take a nap, worrying that the rest I got during the day would result in less sleep during the night. It wasn’t until I got a counselor and she suggested creating a nightly routine that I was able to go back to a usual night’s sleep. I have never felt so grateful for rest.
So, when God says that he denied the Israelite’s rest, I think of those nights. I think of how many nights I battled to sleep. Before, I was blessed to sleep without concern or worry. Afterwards, I felt the physical and spiritual distress of losing rest. I do not wish to go back to those days, and I wonder if the Israelites felt that after God’s pronouncement. Did they stare up at the stars in the wilderness, regretting their rebellion? After eating quail and manna for the fiftieth time, did they wonder about the abundance found in the Promised Land? Or did they continue to stubbornly resist God?
We all need rest. Instead of filling our lives with caffeine-fueled busyness, we should be filling our lives with spirit-led study. Instead of running to every new thing, thinking it will satisfy us, we should be content in all circumstances. Instead of spending our Sabbath days catching up on work we couldn’t get to during the week, we should spend it resting with the Lord.
It may take sacrifice to be at rest. Sometimes, it’s a sacrifice of time. Sometimes, it means working harder on other days. Bend your heart to the King of Kings, accepting His will for your lot in life, rather than your own. The Lord’s rest is worth the sacrifice.
Let’s pray.
Dear Lord, please help me to stop and be still before you. At least once a week, let me seek rest in your presence. During that time, fill me with your refreshing spirit and equip me to pursue the purposes you have laid out for me. Give me your divine rest. In your Son’s name, Amen.
For someone who has battled insomnia, it does give you perspective on what we don't realize we take for granted. Rest is a healthy practice. We all need a reset. And the body repairs itself during quality rest. I do sometimes scurry around on the weekend. Thanks for the reminder that it helps to guard time spent in study, taking stock, curiosity about God, and listening to prompts the Holy Spirit gives.
Ahhhhh...the illusive rest just for the sake of rest.
Sobeit.
...fill my cup.
Amen and amen