Run and tell

My boys and I were working on a roof one day and it was very windy. After awhile we all were feeling tired. One of them asked why he was so tired because we hadn’t been there all that long. I told him it’s the wind. In an effort to explain how working in the wind is more tiring than on a quiet day I put my hand on his shoulder and began to apply pressure. Slow at first then I would push harder then let up and then harder again. His body would instinctively push against my hand. Harder when I was pushing harder and less when I let up. That’s how your body does in the wind. Constantly working against it. By the end of the day you need much rest so your body can recover and be ready for the next task. Our hearts and minds are no different. They need rest too. When I first came to know Christ and became one of his I was determined I was going to stop sinning. I know I’m crazy right? Needless to say that didn’t happen. But I tried. I fought so hard against it that soon I was so exhausted that I was ready to give up! It’s easy to live a sinful life you see. It’s our nature. But to not sin goes against our nature so we are constantly fighting against it like the wind. So I’ve learned we need rest. We can overcome sin or at least the regular habits of sin that we have but understand we are human and we will fail from time to time(daily)but rest is vital if we are going to fight against it. God gave us this example of rest in Genesis 2:2-3. After he had created all things in six days on the seventh day he rested from his work. His set that day apart and made it holy. He did this to show us our need for rest. Spiritual rest. How? Well for one we spend time daily in his word(the Bible) so that we can strengthen ourselves just like when we exercise for our bodies. We pray. Spending time talking to God each day can relieve us of the pressures of everyday life. Fellowship with other believers. This is important because we cannot do this alone!! We can give each other encouragement and pray for each other!! And church. Yes church. We need to go and worship and study and take communion and rest together!! If we are going to fight the good fight and struggle against the dark forces of the world we need rest!! Dear God, thank you for this precious gift of rest!! Help us not to forget to do it in our crazy lives!!