I love going on vacation. I don’t really need to go anywhere or do anything significant for vacation to be worthwhile. Then again, isn’t that what makes a vacation a vacation? The whole idea of a vacation is that we are vacating the spaces and paces that push and pull us in daily living. The word vacation actually comes from the Latin word vacatio, which literally means to be unoccupied. We leave behind the responsibilities and daily tasks that occupy our time, energy, intellect, and emotions.
I love my job and believe that the ability to work is a gift from God; Ecclesiastes 5:19 explicitly says as much. But, it certainly takes its toll on us from time to time.
We all need a vacation from time to time. We need moments of reprieve when our minds and bodies are unoccupied and able to rest and reset. Life is hard and, given enough time, it will eventually kill all of us. The world moves at such a terrifyingly fast pace it’s a miracle that any of us can keep doing it with any level of sustained success. Truly, it is only through the grace of God. Living life today often feels like I imagine it would feel were we to tie ourselves to a sports car and attempt to run along side as it accelerated towards top speed. The rope would allow us to keep up with the car, but there will be very little running and a whole lot of bumping and dragging along the way.
Please don’t mistake me. I love life and believe it is absolutely a gift from God, even in the seasons when it gets crazy, chaotic, and out-of-control. I love my job and believe that the ability to work is a gift from God; Ecclesiastes 5:19 explicitly says as much. But, it certainly takes its toll on us from time to time. We begin to wear down. We get tired and we need to rest and recharge. We may even start looking for a way to vacate our current situation and escape to somewhere we can be unoccupied.
Rest is part of God’s design for our lives. It is something the Lord both modeled for us and commanded of us early in the Bible. In the creation account in Genesis 2:2, we read that once God finished the work of creation “He rested from all His work.” In Exodus 20:9-11 we read that God’s actions in Genesis 2 were to serve as an example for us. It wasn’t that God needed rest from what occupied Him, but that we need rest from what occupies us. We need times in our life when we vacate all the busyness and rest. But our time of being unoccupied is not meant to be permanent. Rest serves a purpose in us so that we can go on serving ours in the world. Times of vacation are to be times of rest that allow us to return to life renewed and ready for action.
As long as we draw breath God has work for us to do.
I am grateful that God didn’t stay on vacation after creation. He didn’t choose to stay in a state of rest, unoccupied by the cares of His creation. He got back to work creating and caring for the world He had made. As we read the Bible, we realize that upon returning to work things only got crazier and harder for the Lord. His work ultimately cost Him His life in the form of Jesus Christ. Even the grave itself didn’t stop God from coming back to work. It too served as a brief moment of intentional inoccupation before getting back to work. He got up and got back about the business of creating new life so that we might have life to the full and share life with others.
Life is work. I know that many of us find ourselves tired, worn thin, and wondering how we’re going to take that next step from time to time. We need to find time vacate, be unoccupied, and rest. In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus Himself said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” But realize the rest is meant to renew you so that you can reengage. There will come a day when our rest will be eternal, a day when we will no longer be occupied with the craziness of this life. But as long as we draw breath God has work for us to do. The good news is the same Jesus we run to when we need rest will run with us while we live life and provide us with His strength to keep going and make an impact for His glory and the good of the world.
