{"id":512,"date":"2020-12-02T01:48:12","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T01:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/?p=512"},"modified":"2021-01-13T14:42:50","modified_gmt":"2021-01-13T14:42:50","slug":"idleness-or-rest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/?p=512","title":{"rendered":"Idleness or Rest?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Terri Gillespie<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She watches over the affairs of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:27 TLV<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does idleness mean? Possible definitions include: avoiding work, lazy, without purpose or effect, or spending time doing nothing. There\u2019s also an idle like a car\u2019s engine, running slowly while disconnected from a load or out of gear. Hmmm<\/em>. There\u2019s something about that last definition. Disconnected\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a long time, I thought rest was the same as being idle. And when I compared myself with the woman in Proverbs 31, I began to believe I was really<\/em> idle. As a result, I was in a perpetual state of exhaustion. Over time I noticed that because of that fatigue, I began neglecting my highest priorities\u2014 my family, spending time with the Lord, friends, and church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m thinking that the difference between idleness and rest has a lot to do with a lack of connection. Could idleness actually be the result of disconnecting from our God-given purpose? Then that would make rest<\/em> the act of reconnecting to God, in order to recharge ourselves for the journey ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Heavenly Father, the Creator of the Universe, completed His work and rested on the seventh day. Why would an all-powerful God need to rest? Our answer lies in Genesis 2:1-3 (TLV): \u201cNow at last the heavens and earth were successfully completed, with all that they contained. So on the seventh day, having finished his task, God ceased from this work he had been doing, and God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he ceased this work of creation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Father knows we are dust; we aren\u2019t super beings (Psalm 103:14). Just so we are clear, rest is important for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we rest? Especially as Thanksgiving approaches\u2014which is the second most stressful holiday of the year? Let\u2019s take our cue from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God didn\u2019t only make honoring the Sabbath a commandment (Exodus 20:8), but He appointed the Sabbath as a festival (Leviticus 23:3). Every week we get to commemorate and rest; celebrate and reconnect with loved ones and Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British Statesman John Lubbock (1834-1913) once said, \u201cRest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer\u2019s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it possible to rest and connect in light of all the preparations during this holiday season? Yes. If we chose to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, I have learned to watch my husband\u2019s face and body language. If all my scurrying from pot to pan to table d\u00e9cor has him looking like a worn-out dishtowel, I must stop and reevaluate. What is important? That everything looks perfect? Or that our home is an environment of peace and joy and gratitude for all\u2014guests and husbands and our children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes the rest is where I reassess my priorities and let God give me direction and peace. If the weather permits, go outside, breathe. Or one of my favorite escape locales is the bathroom. Shut the door and breathe. Listen. See if God has been trying to tell us something, and we have been too busy to notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s an hour or a few minutes, reconnecting with the Lord can make a difference when we feel overwhelmed with activity. Just as God chose a whole day out of seven for rest, we can also add purposeful moments to connect more deeply with God and family anytime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rest has purpose. Probably even more than we realize. May we watch over our rest, my friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article has been brought to you by the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Terri Gillespie She watches over the affairs of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:27 TLV What does idleness mean? Possible definitions include: avoiding work, lazy, without purpose or effect, or spending time doing nothing. There\u2019s also an idle like a car\u2019s engine, running slowly while disconnected from a load … Read More about Idleness or Rest?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[20,19],"class_list":{"0":"post-512","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-connect","9":"tag-rest","10":"entry"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/hammock-2239788_1920-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/hammock-2239788_1920-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"ariseesther","author_link":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/?author=1"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ariseestherconference.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}