No one told me this outright, but from an early age I felt that if I stopped doing good things, bad things would happen. On a big and small scale, this seemed to be the way the world worked, at least, I’d perceived it that way. I reasoned that since the world naturally flows toward disorder, my intervention was necessary to hold back the inevitable chaos. Thus began my love affair with productivity. My necessary intervention could range from tackling the mounting pile of dishes in the sink or clothes in the laundry basket, to the gripping fear I feel when I read Edmund Burke’s warning, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” I mean, I can’t do nothing!
Productivity is attractive because it feels so reasonable and responsible and grown up. Are we not stewards of God’s creation? Aren’t we doing what God designed us to do by being in constant motion? My heart was drawn to the siren’s call of productivity, but since this heart of mine is also more deceitful than anything else (Jeremiah 17:9), I soon found myself in a dilemma. (Does any of this sound familiar?)
Did God really know what He was asking when He commanded His people to observe the Sabbath, even making it one of the Ten Commandments? Is this really what He intended:
“You are to labor six days and do all your work,
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.
You must not do any work” (Exodus 20:9–10).
Early on as I read the Old Testament and saw the countless times Israel refused to observe the Sabbath, even with the threat of severe consequences (Jeremiah 17:23), I wondered, How hard can it be to just stop and do nothing?
I now see that God’s command to rest on the Sabbath is really a command to trust Him and live out the blessing of being His dependent child. My posture should be that of Jeremiah: “Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise” (v.14). Like Judah’s rejection of the Sabbath, my own refusal to rest shows my fear of trusting Him, of being needy, and my unwillingness to admit that I am ignorant of what is best for me. Resting is not so easy after all.
However, Jesus has done the unimaginable by taking the curse for our stiff-necked defiance, and instead has given us the rest and assurance that we belong to our Heavenly Father when we receive His gift of grace. Now, we are able to “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water” (Hebrews 10:22). We are now free to rest and “proclaim [His] love in the morning and [His] faithfulness at night,” (Psalm 92:2). We are free to enjoy our work as we revel in “all the great things He has done” for us (1 Samuel 12:24).
We are free.
Resting is hardly passive; it is making space to remember and really consider His goodness and faithfulness, and then proclaiming it to others, singing our praise unto Him. This is what my heart truly longs for.
Brooke Kocher is a wife and mother of three. She is a Southern girl at heart and a recent transplant to the Pacific Northwest.
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53 thoughts on "Curse and Blessing"
The trust of man… or really myself… has without question been the dominant idol of my heart. I trust what I can do through my will, talent, intelligence, strength, competence and time. When faced with something that is beyond me, I am awakened to uncertainty and fear. This is despite loads of evidence that God works behind the scenes bringing together everything of substance in my life. Sincerely, I can easily identify His hand in my employment, closest friendships, my marriage, my daughter and all of my significant life choices. And yet my emotions tell me that I still struggle to rest in my trust for Him. It’s foolish… but I think also beautiful. Our inelegant stumbling into grace and faith a sign of our youth. Lord, let me lay down my trust in myself and be reminded that you are holding me. That these opportunities to contribute, steward and love are a trust from you but not a crushing responsibility. There is only one God in this relationship and it isn’t me.
Thank you Paula, your words said exactly what I needed to hear. You described me. I too can clearly see God’s hand on me and those around me. I so need to remember to trust His love and accept his blessings.
Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.
This verse reminds me of a timeline.
It starts with a need (healing, saving), it ends with God’s finished work (healed, saved), and throughout my opportunity to praise.
Before the beginning, God.
Jesus then makes a way for the “cross” into the family of God for all those who come for forgiveness.
Daily is the Holy Spirit’s teaching, guiding, and directing.
Marked by love, His Love births my greatly inferior but growing love, exemplified in obedience.
Obedience grounded in trust.
Trusts by-product is rest, not the absence of result but the God’s follow-through from obedience.
I’m thinking those Asherah poles took some time to install. Those altars to foreign gods were built with some forethought. The Israelites, the chosen people of God, did not just wake up one day and decide to desert Him. It was a slow steady series of choices, seemingly of small consequence. Until one day it wasn’t. Until one day they didn’t look like the chosen people of God at all. He had provided all and they had turned their backs. They were the apple of His eye but they were now rotting to the core. They forced His hand to do something drastic to draw them back. Their dire situation was entirely preventable. He had warned them. He had told them how to protect themselves. It was so simple it became easy to ignore. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” One day a week take sincere time to bask in the presence and the promises of the Lord. Remember His faithfulness and goodness. Recount His mighty deeds on your behalf. Speak of them amongst yourselves so no one forgets. Remind yourselves to Whom you belong. All this remembering would result in a weekly recommittment. If only they had done this, if only they had obeyed this simple command, then they would be living under blessing instead of cursing. No wonder Jeremiah wept when he told them all this. God’s people had fallen so far. They forgot to remember. They simply lost their minds. Their minds were always supposed to be stayed on Him.
It’s never too late in God’s economy to make the better choice, to repent and change course. Praise Him for that! Let us be the people of His Book, the people who deliberately remember, the people who honor the Sabbath because He is worthy and we are grateful. Let us ask each other if we have done so, if we are doing so. Let us accept no excuse. Sisters in Christ, let us hold each other accountable lest we forget. Because if it could happen to them, it could happen to us.
Love looking at the sabbath as a weekly recommitment!!!
Thank you for your words of wisdom, Churchmouse. I needed this reminder about the slow steady series of choices we make each day that move us closer or further from Jesus. Very grateful for new mercy each morning and grace upon grace to repent, make the better choice and change course. Lord Jesus, help me to make better choices today to be more of the woman you created me to be—particularly in my role as mother to littles and wife to my husband in this challenging season. ❤️
Amen! A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – let us pray that we keep going in the right direction, towards Jesus.
This was so good — and so needed. Thank you, Brooke.
For the doer in me, rest is hard! For the lazy bones that sometimes pokes her ugly head, it’s easy..!
Lord, help me find a balance, that works, a balance that gives me time for rest in you , but also do the work that needs to be done..
Heal me Lord and I shall be healed. Save me Lord, and I shall be saved..
Into your hands, Lord God, I give my days, my life, my all.. Thank you Lord God for everything..thank you, thank you..
Amen..
Morning ladies.. every blessing and prayers for you to have a God blessed day…❤
I’m the same way!!!! I really need to practice more balance. Work hard, rest hard. And by resting I don’t want to ignite my family and binge watch Netflix—-well sometimes I do—-but I should be resting by doing something that will refuel me and my family, like hiking or playing or whatever.
Amen!
I still recall what my son, George, would sometimes say about what God did on the seventh day, He would say “God made the recliner and TV on the seventh day so everyone could relax.” God is resting and rejoicing and laughing with George now because as Brooke Kocher put it George was able to “see that God’s command to rest on the Sabbath is really a command to trust Him and live out the blessing of being His dependent child.”
Lord allow me to be like a child and trust in You and receive Your blessings. Remind me that You are there to help me and to share my joys. I praise Your name. Amen.
I love this! Sometimes kids see things in a straightforward light which is something we can learn from sometimes without overthinking it.
Amen. I love the way He speaks to our hearts.
This hit me in my gut tonight. Today I skipped church and instead did laundry and yard work and dishes. During every chore I had that nagging feeling that my priorities were not right. After dinner we watched a show about the disciples of Jesus. They talked about fishing on the sabbath and how it is unlawful. I blew it off. Then I hop on my computer and go to this website. I usually wait til morning to do my devotions, but had a feeling I should now. Then I read this.
Thank you, God for that small voice. Forgive me Father and help me to better prepare during the week, then rest in your presence.
We had a similar day and today having similar regrets!
I’m guilty of the same. Sigh… Father, forgive me.