Curse and Blessing
Open Your Bible
Jeremiah 17:1-27, Exodus 20:8-11, Hebrews 10:22
BY Guest Writer
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.
53 thoughts on "Curse and Blessing"
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I am prayerfully learning to observe the sabbath. It is not easy to simply rest, but I like what someone said about having a vacation day…I really need to learn how to wind down, and God knows I wont be going on vaca anytime soon. So He has given me reason to Selah! God is sooo Good!
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I am at a place of just longing to be rooted so deeply in my Father and not in my own abilities and productivity. Oh Lord I do pray – have your way in me!
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As a mom , it is hard for me to discern what is a burden to give up on Sabbath and what is being a good steward of my family . For example , yesterday((Sunday) I did my standard personal “goal” of cleaning for 45 minutes each day . I didn’t intend to , but …. toddlers . It honestly felt good to accomplish something … but was I supposed to leave the salt he poured out on the floor there ? I hope I don’t come across as sarcastic , I sincerely want to know where the line is for other moms out there !
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Mom here – the stay at home version. I have the issue where I cannot rest without my house being clean and tidy. If there was a mess of salt all over the floor my mind would NOT let it go. I would have to do it before I could rest. It’s cliche but, I am certainly a Martha. I told my friend just the other day that if Jesus walked into my house I likely would yell from the kitchen sink, “Im in here!” And he would probably just stand next to me and wash dishes along with me – because that’s just who He is. Gracious. I am learning to have the right heart posture. Are you really resting if you’re sitting on the couch staring at a mess and stressing about the mess? Heck no! Rest is not simply sitting still (all of the time anyway). It’s a posture of the heart. Martha has the wrong heart posture at that moment with Jesus. She wasn’t wrong for buzzing around the house and serving her guests. That’s what you did when you had important visitors – still do! Her heart posture was wrong. If your kiddo gets the tummy bug on a Sunday and pukes all over the floor, we don’t just let it sit there until Monday morning. Throw the kid a bucket and say, “I’ll bring you some pedialyte tomorrow morning. I’m resting.” But the puke cleaning and the kid nurturing can be restful, done with the right heart. *scrub scrub* “Lord, right now motherhood is hard. And I swear if I get the stomach flu, you and I are going to have issues. But thank you, a million times over, for the blessing of motherhood.”
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You are so right about it being a posture of the heart . I get a little buzz out of being productive , so sometimes the buzz I get out of accomplishing the need-to-do’s becomes a slippery slope into doing extra for that little buzz ( feels like an internal high five !) . I think at the heart of it is that I strive to feel valuable by doing more , which is truly a heart posture issue !
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This opened my eyes to my focus on productivity, while I complain about needing a break.
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So, SO good.
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I’ve made a concerted effort to rest on the Sabbath for a few years now. I’m not legalistic about it, but it’s amazing how much good it does my soul. Basically it allows me to be present. I’m not thinking of my to do list or busying myself with tasks.
I listen to the sermon without distraction. I play with my kids. Then after lunch I usually take a nap. It’s like a vacation day but not reserved for the once or twice a year trip.
God knew we needed rest. He also knew we wouldn’t stop unless commanded to do so. Give Him the opportunity to provide space during the week to handle tasks, then set them down. Rest in Him. Enjoy His creation. And nap if you want to!
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As a stay at home mom, this is so hard for me. You’d think being at home all of the time would make it easy to find time to rest. But it is hard to separate work and rest. I constantly buzz around doing laundry, dishes, etc. I don’t play with my kids as much as I feel that I should because I honestly just can’t stop and be still. This devotion hit home for me. I have a hard time with time management, but I know if I had a better grip on working efficiently, rather than constantly, my whole family would benefit. Lord, forgive me for being relentlessly busy and not being present with the loved ones you have given me. I pray that I would actively make the changes I need to make so that I can be present with you, and with my family. Thank God that “our sins they are many, his mercy is more!”
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I feel the same. At the end of the day, I’m exhausted. I know I could manage my time better, but I get overwhelmed trying to organize in every area: cleaning the house, making dinner, meal prep, exercise, play with my kiddo, get in the word… and then I just give up and everything’s a mess. I love the idea of getting a better grip on working efficiently instead of constantly, as well as this reminder to rest! Rest with God, rest with my kids.
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Yes, feeling this same way. I also need to work more efficiently at home, rather than constantly. Here lately I’ve found myself too busy to do devotional. It’s a sad truth.
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Beautiful words, Churchmouse. It rarely is a quick decline, you are so right. “Let us be the people of His book…”. Love! ~ B
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