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 Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Zondervan’s “The Weekly Rest Project.”

The entire world runs on cycles. Day becomes night. Night becomes day. Winter melts into spring. Spring blooms into summer. Summer fades into autumn. And autumn freezes into winter. Years pass by, and people are born and eventually die, but these cycles that God created remain the same. He set each cycle moving at creation, including the ones that govern our days. The Bible models this cycle for us. It is a rhythm of work, play, worship, and rest. Days for work, nights for rest, Sabbath each week, and everyone pausing to come together to worship and celebrate for holidays and feasts. Everything in balance to keep us healthy physically, mentally, and spiritually. The seasons have always played a role too. Work was limited by daylight and the weather until very recently. There was less outdoor work to be done in the winter and more time to rest. Now, of course, thanks to technology, we can work anytime and anywhere, even when we shouldn’t. Our modern, busy, go-go-go, I’ll-rest-when-I’m-dead mentality doesn’t truly disrupt or circumvent the cycle God provided us, even if it feels like working around the clock is some sort of cheat code to getting to the good life. It may lead to financial success, but it always comes at a cost — usually our health and overall well-being. We’ve turned away from living in community and working together to carry the load in favor of doing it all on our own, in our own ways. As a result, we’re a society of people who are sick, unhappy, burned out, lonely, and overwhelmed. And that is definitely not God’s plan for us. Prioritizing rest is about more than catching up on sleep. It’s about living our lives in sync with the rhythms God laid out for us that are designed to bring us closer to Him.

On the seventh day — with the canvas of the cosmos completed — God paused from His labor and rested. Thus God blessed day seven and made it special — an open time for pause and restoration, a sacred zone of Sabbath-keeping. [Genesis 2:2-3]

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 Written by Kelly Balarie, a contemporary writer. 

What would happen if you tried to help a friend with their groceries, but they wouldn’t let go of their grip on the grocery bag? Would you effectively be able to assist them with the load they are carrying? The same happens when we don’t release our load to the Lord. Scripture encourages us to cast our cares, but we will still carry their heavy load if we don’t let them go. What load might you need to cast on the Lord?

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. [1 Peter 5:7]

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 This is an excerpt from “A Beautiful Year in the Bible” published by Alabaster and edited by contemporary editor Sabrina Dawson.

Through his words and deeds, Jesus articulates a Kingdom in which extending help to one another is essential to our way of life, transforming competitive instincts into collaborative strengths. This call to service is not about diminishing oneself but about elevating communal well-being, where every action and choice can significantly impact another’s journey. Through his words and deeds, Jesus articulates a Kingdom in which extending help to one another is essential to our way of life, transforming competitive instincts into collaborative strengths. This call to service is not about diminishing oneself but about elevating communal well-being, where every action and choice can significantly impact another’s journey.

Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For the Son of Man came not be be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. [Mark 10:43-45]

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 Written by Ann Spangler, a contemporary author. This is an excerpt from her book “Praying the Names of God for 52 Weeks.”

The Hebrew Scriptures normally depict God, not as the Father of individuals but as Father to His people, Israel. Pious Jews, aware of the gap between a holy God and sinful human beings, would never have dared address God as Ab(Hebrew) or Abba, the Aramaic word for “Daddy,” which gradually came to mean “dear father.” Jesus shocked many of His contemporaries by referring to God as His Father and by inviting His followers to call God “Abba, Father.” Rather than depicting God as a typical Middle Eastern patriarch who wielded considerable power within the family, He depicted Him primarily as a tender and compassionate Father, who extends grace to both the sinner and the self-righteous.

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” [Romans 8:15]

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 Written by L. B. Cowman (1870-1960), an American author and missionary. This is an excerpt from her book “Streams in the Desert.”

I once thought that after I prayed that it was my duty to do everything that I could do to bring the answer to pass. He taught me a better way, and showed that my self-effort always hindered His working, and that when I prayed and definitely believed Him for anything, He wanted me to wait in the spirit of praise, and only do what He bade me. It seems so unsafe to just sit still, and do nothing but trust the Lord; and the temptation to take the battle into our own hands is often tremendous. We all know how impossible it is to rescue a drowning man who tries to help his rescuer, and it is equally impossible for the Lord to fight our battles for us when we insist upon trying to fight them ourselves. It is not that He will not, but He cannot. Our interference hinders His working.

Commit your way to the Lord;  trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. (Psalm 37:5-6).

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 Written by the K-LOVE pastor team.

Lord Jesus, today we think about the tragedies of war, remembering those we’ve lost and all it has cost. We look forward to the age to come when the nations will be completely healed and you will wipe every tear from our eyes. We set our hope on that day when death, sorrow, crying, and pain will be gone forever!

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. [Revelation 21:4]

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Written by Billy Graham (1918-2018), an American evangelist.  This is an excerpt from his book “What Happened at the Cross.”

True believers in Jesus Christ have no doubt that He lived among us, died for our sins on the cross, and after three days was resurrected to life, conquering the sting of death, and offering the human race the greatest gift — His sacrificial and saving love. Many people do not fully grasp the impact that the crucified and risen Christ makes upon the human heart. How do I know this? Because there is no change in them… If you believe that Jesus rose from the grave, achieving victory over the cross of death, and you accept that He paid your penalty, you will never be the same. The cross represents doom for sin and hope for sinners. It condemns sin and cleanses souls. The cross is where Jesus was crucified in our place and where Christ brings resurrection life to mankind.

Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind! [Psalm 66:5]

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Written by the Lead Like Jesus team, an organization founded by Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges that promotes a transformational leadership model based on following Jesus

Jesus revealed His top priorities as He taught His disciples how to pray. His first priority was (and is) exalting the Father; His second Jesus’ thinking was permeated with an awareness of God’s greatness and God’s design for the world priority, seeing the world transformed as God’s kingdom is established. His God-shaped perspective shaped His prayers, priorities, and life. What shapes your life?

One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples. ”He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.” [Luke 11:1-2]

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Written by Kenneth and Karen Boa, contemporary authors and speakers. This is an excerpt from their book “Simple Prayers.”

O Lord, I am deeply grateful for Your wonderful acts, for Your abundant promises, and for the gift of my relationship with You through the merits of Christ. How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who take refuge in You Before the sons of men! (Psalm 31:19). Surely God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul. (Psalm 54:4). Amen.

Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. [Psalm 69:16]

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Written by the Reflections Ministry team.

Think back to a time when you went through a particularly trying set of circumstances…Whatever time in your life you are recalling, you probably remember that minutes seemed like hours, hours dragged like days, and days became more like months. The seemingly glacier-like movement of time only exaggerated the pain, discomfort, or evil you were experiencing. You might have wondered how you could possibly make it even one more day. Looking back now on that difficult period of your life, it’s likely that you have a completely different perspective. What amounted to the torturous passage of minutes, you now view as a single block of time…When the perspective of distance allows us to view a period of days or weeks as a single unit—as a “day” in our life rather than a series of days—we are close to seeing life as God sees it… God does not measure time as we do—He sees all of history at once. There is no past or future with God— everything is “present.” While we view experiences as a string of occurrences— usually a long, tedious string—they are a single reality to Him…Whenever you feel caught in a slough of slow-moving, sinister events, remember two things: First, the day will come when you will see it differently; second, God sees it differently already. The evil that seems to dominate our age has already been dominated by God’s design for time—and for eternity.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand  years are like a day. [2 Peter 3:8]

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