GOD’S DESIGN AND INTENT
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matt 11:28
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Cor 5:8
Hey there everyone! As a final encouragement I would like to highlight the importance of celebration and rest. Both of these things were God’s idea and He knows that we need them. We need to leave the old things behind, celebrate the wins and celebrate the new beginnings.
We need to celebrate life, love, and each other better. Our culture tends to be incredibly conservative as we highlight the good things in our life. Of course, there is at the opposite end of this is that we are very good at helping when there is need. What if we did both? What if we celebrated at the same level that we responded to need?
For me personally this sets off alarm bells. The reason is that need seems to be a higher priority over celebration because surely celebration is a luxury. The truth is – this is a lie. The benefit of celebration is so important that God enacted it from the beginning. It was part of His law because celebration is not just about eating, drinking, and partying. It is more-so about remembering and being thankful. This in turn reduces levels of stress.
“What were your wins this year?”
“How will you celebrate them?”
“How will you celebrate your wins in the coming year?”
REST
Rest is important. Do you consistently feel unwell when you rest? It is because there is not enough rest in your normal schedule. Even God rested on the seventh day after creating the universe. Again, in the same way that God knew that celebrating different festivals was important He designed us to have a sabbath. A day when we can rest, reflect and rejuvenate.
How do you position yourself in rest? Does it look like sleeping? or do you actively rest? This may look like long walks or gardening. Whichever it is you need to do it. Rest is important because you are more productive when it is time to work.
So this Christmas – CELEBRATE AND REST. You are not being lay when you rest. You are enacting Godly design. Celebrate! break off conservative behavior for a moment and be thankful for something. It will help you bring focus to a new 2022!
Much Love
Matt