Daily Affirmations - Day 7 - Redeeming the Time - Rest and Balance

Day 7: Rest and balance

The Lord provides for those He loves even while they are sleeping

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day… On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days” (Exodus 16:4-5).

O Lord our God, all that You have done— will ever do— is good, and wise, and perfect. From the dawn of creation You set Your laws in motion— laws to govern the universe You created— to maintain precision, balance, order, sequencing, harmony and safety.

No less so for humans whom You created in Your own image, breathing Your own breath into their spirit (Genesis 2:7). And amazingly, You even set for them the standards of a balanced life by Your own leading and example:

By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done (Genesis 2:2-3).

Thus You established for humans laws of labor and rest; to maintain within the human spirit— just as in the universe— precision, balance, order, sequencing, harmony and safety. And You gave us Your command of Sabbath rest (Exodus 20:9-11) with repeated reminders.

Even when You rained down bread from heaven for Your people, You gave them a double portion on the sixth day, so they could maintain the rest You had prescribed for their good, and still not experience lack (Exodus 16:4-5).

And those who disobeyed and went out to gather on the day of rest found none (Exodus 16:27). They learned the futility of resisting laws and principles You have set in motion, for You have warned us against a life of driven, relentless labor and ceaseless toil for food that spoils (John 6:27):

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for [the Lord] grants sleep to those He loves (Psalm 127:2).

God of perfect precision, God of perfect provision, Your ways are good, Your law are perfect. Help us not to squander our time in the ways of a world obsessed by greed, covetousness, and relentless acquisition. You have shown us that "gains" that thwart Your laws are ultimately revealed to be smelly and full of maggots (Exodus 16:20).

Help us to redeem the time, doing the work You assign (Ephesians 2:10), within the time You assign. Teach us to trust in Your provision and to follow Your flawless design for work, rest, and balance in our lives.

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