https://odb.org/2026/02/05/rejuvenating-rest
Hebrews 4:9–11 (NIV): 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
Even if we don’t realize we’re exhausted, we all need physical, mental, and emotional rest. God also provides divine rest when we accept both the good news of salvation through Christ and daily spiritual rest as the Spirit enables us to live for Christ by faith. Those who place their trust in God can depend on His unending presence, unlimited power, and unchanging promises. Saved through Christ’s work on the cross, we can rest in the peace of His sufficiency (Hebrews 4:1-4). We can experience divine rest as a guarantee fulfilled eternally now and when Jesus comes again (vv. 5-8). (Xochitl Dixon, Our Daily Bread 5th February 2026)
The oft-repeated phrase is even God took a rest on the 7th day when He created the world and everything in it. That was the origin of the Sabbath, the day mandated under Mosaic law for the Jews to cease working and dedicate to God, His Word and worship. We know the legendary dedication of the religious Jews in Israel in observing the Sabbath that even if they’re overseas on business, they’ll fly back to Israel to observe their day of rest with family.
As believers of Christ, we try to emulate the Jews by dedicating our Sundays to God. Attending church, have fellowship with our fellow believers, worship the Lord together and conduct bible studies or cell group meetings. After lunch, we all go back to our respective homes and chill for the day before the new week and its adventures at work begin again the next day. It’s back to the grind. The traffic, the commute, the emails, the files/matters to attend. The cycle restarts on Mondays and we wind down on Fridays, preparing for the weekend. Back to church for worship, fellowship, service and/or ministry next Sunday.
In this workweek to weekend work cycle, we take a rest from work on Saturdays and Sundays (most are now on a 5-day work week). Our faith and adherence to our faith however is steadfast and constant 365 days a year. There is no day of rest in the sense that one day in the week, we just let go and do as we wished. In other words, there isn’t a day when we may let our guard down and be evil or revert to our carnal selves. It obviously doesn’t work that way.
But, as human beings, being steadfast and faithful to the faith and God’s calling and plans can be tiring and sometimes even stressful. Have we done enough? Have we been good enough? Did we fail and confess our iniquities before the Lord? It is thus good to use our weekly day of rest (or in a way, our Sabbath) to chill before God and allow Him to strengthen and rejuvenate our spirit and soul so that we may persevere on in the faith and respond to our calling next week. When we worship Him in church, allow His presence and the Holy Spirit to engulf and refresh us in the spirit. Strengthen our knees even as we meet Him face to face in the spirit in worship. Immerse ourselves in His presence. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us for the rest of our days as we dwell in the house of the Lord forever – David in Psalm 23.
Our journey of faith is a long one in human days – therefore, let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith (Hebrews 12:2). Every one of us must be able to say when we breathe our last, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Ronnie's Thoughts 