Gratitude

Last week, I got to spend some time in the Red River Gorge. If you’ve never spent time there, make the time. It’s a hidden gem in the foothills of Eastern KY. Between the waterfalls, sandstone arches, and Incredible views along the ridgelines of the gorge, you get to see just how creative our Creator is. On Monday morning, I woke up to one of the most beautiful scenes I have ever laid eyes on in my life. Standing atop Hansen’s Point, I looked over miles of hills and rock features. The mist was rising out of the valley like an ocean of clouds below, and the sun rising in the east brought out colors that were so vivid they almost felt fake. It was an unbelievable way to start the day off, and all I could feel was gratitude.

How many of us are so busy with all the craziness in our lives that we never take the time to look at the sunrise, or listen to the birds singing, or just simply rest? Do we ever take time to just simply sit in God’s creation and be grateful? I get it. Life can be crazy. Schedules can get busy. We are an “on-the-go” people in America. Unfortunately, that way of life is a tool that Satan can use to distract us. When we don’t take the time to simply be thankful for all that God has given us, we can, instead, turn our attention to all of the craziness and let our frustrations be our guide. Bitterness, anger, and a short fuze become our normal. This is why it is so important that we rest. That’s also why we should remember the fourth commandment. 

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Exodus 20:8–11

So many of us get all wrapped up in life’s weekly grind, and we never take the time to rest. I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve heard the statement, “I’ll rest when I’m in Heaven.” I get it. That statement is correct. We do get to rest in Heaven. However, God isn’t telling us to do that. Why would God give us Ten Commandments only to have nine of them really matter? God doesn’t work like that. His commandments aren’t there to hold us down. They’re there to help us live a better life here…..on earth…..today. Our problem is that we’ve got it in our heads that we need to be moving at all times. Our kids are in every extracurricular program we can get them in. We join every extra group or league or committee we can, and we wonder why we’re exhausted 90% of the time.

We need to understand that God did create us to work…and work hard. He wants us to have a good work ethic. We can read about that throughout the Bible.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Colossians 3:23–24

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
1 Timothy 5:8


Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.
Proverbs 12:11

These verses just scratch the surface of how many times hard work is brought up in the Bible. However, there are also over 800 instances in the Bible where “rest” is talked about. For God to place the Sabbath commandment before honoring your father and mother, murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, and coveting really says something. When you read through the commandments, it’s very obvious that there is an order of importance that God uses in this list. That’s why “Love the Lord your God” is first and “You shall not covet” is last. This Sabbath thing must be important to God. So what are the benefits of the Sabbath?

It is a reward for our obedience. In Hebrews, the writer begins talking about the rebellion of the people of Israel when God called them to take the promised land, but they let their fear keep them from it. Because of that, they never got to enter the land or enter into God’s rest. The Hebrew writer then tells us…

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
Hebrews 4:9–11

It is our responsibility to do God’s work throughout the week. We should be diligent in this work and not take this calling lightly. Then, on the seventh day, we rest as a reward for the work we have done. When we are working hard, we need time to recover. Rest is necessary to continue to do the work of the Lord. In 1 Kings 19, we read the story of Elijah as he is fleeing for his life from Jezebel who has a price on his head. He was exhausted and hungry, and his heart was weary. What did God do? He sent an angel to tell him to rest.

And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”
 1 Kings 19:7

The human body is capable of many things, but without rest, it will struggle and ultimately fail. God knows more than anyone how fragile the human body can be. While that rest can help us to recover, it can also help us become more centered and focused. The mind needs rest as much as the body does. It is when we rest that we can remember Who gives us this rest. 

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Psalm 121:1–8

It is impossible to lift your eyes when you have your hand on the plow every day. Work takes focus. Rest helps us refocus. With that refocus comes gratitude. We can be thankful because we are taking the time to remember where “every good and perfect gift” comes from. Don’t neglect the Sabbath. Relish it. Desire it. Acknowledge and practice it. When we have a better idea of God’s rest, we become better disciples of God’s Kingdom.