No Rest, Rotten Mess
The older I get, the more I see that it really is true: God always provides in His perfect timing when we love Him and follow His plan for our lives. Often, when I hear of God providing, the first thing that comes to mind is financial provision and practical needs being met. But just as much as He has always taken care of those needs, we’ve also seen Him provide in every good way—by doing things like placing friendships in our lives right when we need them. Or how about another form of provision that’s easy to miss if we’re not paying attention: the opportunity to rest.
The Israelites are a great people to learn from. While we often read their Old Testament stories and think, “Wow… what knuckleheads!” they can unfortunately act like mirrors to our own struggles—a model of the human condition. God had just provided for them in a major way—freeing them from captivity in Egypt and swallowing up their enemies in the Red Sea—yet they still complained when they became hungry. Then they failed to follow instructions properly when God provided food for them to eat.
What instructions did they fail to follow? They tried to gather more than what they needed, and they didn’t want to stop and rest. Let’s read this passage together:
“These are the Lord’s instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each person in your tent.” So the people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little. But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed. Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.” But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them. After this the people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need. And as the sun became hot, the flakes they had not picked up melted and disappeared. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual—four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation. He told them, “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.” So they put some aside until morning, just as Moses had commanded. And in the morning the leftover food was wholesome and good, without maggots or odor. Moses said, “Eat this food today, for today is a Sabbath day dedicated to the Lord. There will be no food on the ground today. You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day.” Some of the people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food. The Lord asked Moses, “How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions? They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day.”” Exodus 16:16-29 NLT
There is a Scripture I refer to often because it’s something I still have to remind myself of personally. It’s Psalm 127:2: “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to His loved ones.”
What happens when we don’t do this? Whether we like to admit it or not, working without taking the precious gift of rest that God has given us out of love comes from a root of not fully trusting Him to provide for our every need. And as we can see from the example the Israelites set, it’s truly useless. The day they gathered more than they needed, it went to waste. And the day they went out to gather when God told them to rest, there was nothing there.
One thing I’ve personally learned is that when I don’t stop to rest, I actually have less. I’m able to accomplish less work because I’m not showing up at my best. But I also have less joy, less patience—and those things make me look and act a lot less like Jesus. Maybe that’s because I’m not following Him as well as I think, trusting Him with 99% while saying, “Just one more project, and then I’ll put it away for the day.” Like the leftover manna, the extra I gather turns into a rotten mess.
If we could physically see that our overworking is truly amounting to nothing, we probably wouldn’t do it. But we can see this—God gives us a clear picture in His Word. And while we don’t always see the cost we pay for overworking, at least not immediately, it costs us dearly. Our health suffers. Our friends and family suffer. Our relationship with Jesus suffers.
Sometimes this gets confusing when our work is for a noble cause—whether vocational ministry or simply the desire to provide security for our families. But the Creator of all things—the One who makes miraculous manna—is the same God who provides for our every need today. And what does He tell us?
“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’” Matthew 11:28 NLT
Prayer:
God, please show me if I’m acting like the Israelites—striving harder than You’ve asked, trying to do my part to provide for my own needs. Help me remember that every good thing in my life comes from You, and that I can’t work around what You have for me by working harder to get more. Teach me to trust You fully by surrendering my rest and daily rhythms to You. I believe that as I do, I’ll find Your burden truly is light. Amen.
