Did you know that God can accomplish more when you are at rest versus when you are at work? 

In the law of Moses, God instituted the Sabbath Day and Sabbath Year (every 7th year) in Israel as a shadow to reveal this very truth and to appoint it as a sign to the nations. No cultivation, labor, or tillage of any kind was permitted on the Sabbath Day and in the Sabbatical Year. Did God forbid work because He is against it? Not at all. He created and designed the entire concept of work before, not after, the Fall of Adam to bless mankind. Indeed, there is dignity and a sacredness in all hard work. So why mandate a rest for the Israelites? In part, it was because He wanted to teach them that their livelihood was not solely based on the work of their hands, but His. He wanted them to know that they weren’t the only ones sowing seed and that when He sows, He never plants anything in a straight row. 

We say, “if it’s meant to be, it’s up to ME”, but God says, “if it’s meant be, it’s up to ME and YOU.”

God also promised the Israelites an especially fruitful harvest proceeding their adherence to these consecrated periods of rest. Historically, His promises turned out to be true. Ancient writings record that the Israelites produced over three-fold more during some of these Sabbatical years compared to when their land was actively worked. Three times the output with zero input. This was supernatural efficiency, and it wasn’t because they simply didn’t work. There is a lot of people who don’t work (not those that can’t) and see nothing simply because laziness breeds lack. It is the hands of the hard-working which bring income. The abundant harvest they enjoyed only came about when they replaced excessive work for a trust in God. In other words, their hearts replaced their hands.

God instituted the rest and promised fruitfulness because He wanted to cultivate trust in His people’s hearts toward Him for their needs as their Father, and to get them understand that He moves and acts even outside of their best efforts. Today, the shadow of the Sabbath is fulfilled in our own lives when we come to Christ because He is our rest and the true substance of that shadow. We cease from working to be accepted by God because we have received the righteousness of God through the faith and grace of Christ apart from ourselves. We have rested from our own works and the laborious efforts of self-salvation. There also remains a long-term Sabbath rest the people of God (the 7th year Sabbatical shadow), which will be fulfilled when we are with Him in person forever. 

In the new Covenant, God doesn’t designate a specific day for His people to rest. Rather, He desires that we learn to rest in Christ and in the Fatherhood of God continually as we live our lives day by day. Sure, we enjoy the fellowship, worship, and the gathering of the saints on the Lord’s Day to celebrate His resurrection, but this is not to be confused with the Sabbath day as instituted under the law of Moses, but now has been abolished and fulfilled in the New Covenant through the person of Christ (Hebrews 4:10).

He works through our labors no doubt; but He desires we understand that He also works outside of our labors so that we would know that He is God and that He, as our Father, can be fully trusted.

King David recognized this truth. He realized that to excessively pursue wealth for provision is vain when considering the Fatherhood of God:

It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved (children) even in his sleep. – Psalms 127:2

It is absolutely of no value to labor excessively when we have a Father who actually gives to us in our sleep. What a profound truth that when God’s children are sleeping in the dark hours of the night, He is awake and providing for them behind the scenes. What a great Father!

Jesus also revealed this aspect of the Father when one day 1000’s of people gathered at the bottom of a hillside in Galilee to hear Him speak. He told them to look around at the flowers of the field, which do not labor whatsoever yet are provided for with brilliant clothes. He also revealed that the real reason we tend to overwork, worry, and have anxiety is because we simply do not trust in our Father for our provision, but seek it out on our own. He was addressing an orphan approach to life:

And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not work nor, do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! – Matthew 6:29:30 (NASB)

To be clear again, Jesus is not saying to not work, embrace entitlement, and just expect everything to be provided for you. Rather, He is simply addressing those people in the crowd which are overly worked, overly stressed, and overly worried about their lives and their future and encouraging them to rest in their Father and know that He can be trusted for all their needs.

According to Jesus, to truly rest, we must do two things: 

1. Understand that the Father both sees and knows all your needs. From the smallest ones to the greatest, He knows them all. If He sees and knows about a sparrow that falls to the ground (Matthew 6:27), He sees and knows about that car repair, He sees and knows about that water bill, He sees and knows you need to feed your children, He sees and knows about that pending bankruptcy. He sees and knows. 

2. In view of us understanding that the Father both sees and knows our needs, Jesus says to continually seek Him and His Kingdom. Why? Seeking God is like exercising muscles. It strengthens our relationship and trust in Him for our lives and He rewards those that diligently seek Him. How do you continually seek God? Spend regular time alone with Him, and spend time conversing with Him about His Kingdom and plans for your life, not your own. It’s one of His favorite topics to talk about.

“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. – Matthew 6:32-33 (NASB)

Throughout the ages God has been trying to communicate to us that not only does He work when we work, but that He also works even when we don’t. All your needs will be met when you come to the revelation that the Father both sees and knows about them all, and when you seek Him and His agenda for your life. When this happens, the perceived necessity to excessively work, and that ongoing tendency to worry about everything will disappear. The Lord, that created the worlds, is for you and loves you. Trust and rest in Him today.