On Azimuth

¹ Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ² And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. Genesis 2:1-3 English Standard Version

            When I was in the Army, my unit 1AD, participated in the securing of Baghdad. I was detailed as a liaison officer to 3ID, joining them as they closed on Baghdad. This followed an intensive six-month preparation for combat operations in Iraq. So for almost a year, I worked seven days a week, often for eighteen hours a day. While in Iraq, I rarely got more than five hours of sleep. This is not unusual for units engaged in combat operations. Ask any veteran of our recent combat operations and they will most likely tell you a similar story. Eventually our commanding general, Major General Sanchez, moved on to command CJTF-7, and was replaced by Major General Dempsey. One of the first things that MG Dempsey did was to mandate a day off for us each week.

He was serious about this, demanding a schedule from the Chief of Staff, to ensure compliance. As an aside, he mentioned that we all looked horrible and were walking around in a daze. He said that he needed us to get some rest, not because he was a nice guy, but because he understood that exhausted soldiers and leaders often make poor decisions and he wanted us to be on our best when we engaged the enemy. He well understood the need for rest.

MG Dempsey did not invent this. The Lord did, way back at the beginning. We sometimes inaccurately assign the idea of Sabbath to the law of Moses. And while the Mosaic law did include injunctions concerning the Sabbath, we find the first mention of the Sabbath as part of the creation story. I do not pretend to fully understand why God rested. I’m not that good of a theologian; however, I do know that God felt it was important enough to engage in rest after the work of creation and then tell us about it. You see, we need rest.

Our modern world would have you believe that we do not need rest. Many in the business community consider long working hours a matter of distinction. Elon Musk, when he took over Twitter, renaming it to X, told his employees that should they survive his staff reductions, they must expect excruciatingly long hours. He does not expect his employees to do things he does not. He is famous for sleeping in his office and working very long hours. He is not alone in this. Many leaders in the modern industrial world expect similar work from their employees. Many hold down multiple jobs to make ends meet or purchase things that they desire. As a culture we despise rest even though we desperately need it.

2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Psalm 127:2

 The word choice of vain is interesting. In this case, vain refers to something useless, producing not good result. I do not believe that God is denigrating hard work. After all, in numerous other places we’re encouraged to work diligently. Here, God reminds us that endless toil does not produce what we desire. God gives His children sleep and rest. We forget that God calls us out of unending toil and labor into a more relaxed existence, one which places value upon rest. There are numerous references to rest in scripture, and while we think of them primarily in the spiritual sense, resting from our attempts to save ourselves through works, I believe that God also wants us to engage in rest from our physical labors.

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. ²⁸ And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? ²⁹ See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day. Exodus 16:27-30

In this passage we see the linkage between rest and faith. Do I trust the Lord enough to actually rest? For some, few I believe, responsibilities require long work hours. But for most of us, excessive work hours stem from other causes. For many of us, we want more things so we must work longer hours to get them. Others seek promotion. Still others seek to avoid difficult situations at home. Whatever the cause, we must look at ourselves and determine if our refusal to rest stems from a lack of faith; not believing that God, who owns it all, will really take care of us. Our lack of faith leads us to shamble through life weary and worn out, unable to truly serve the Lord.

Thought Questions:

1. How often do you take a day just to rest?

2. What keeps you from resting?

3. Rate your level of faith on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the strongest.

4. When was the last time you just rested?

5. How did it make you feel?