Americans are busy people. Work, home, civic duties, sports, kids, social activities and jobs all demand a share of our time. When Christians add a variety of church activities to that mix, it's a wonder any of us find time to even bathe and sleep. Busy is not just our nature, it is our culture and demanded by modern life.

That isn't all bad. There is joy in activity and value in feeling productive. Laziness was considered by the early church to be one of the seven deadly sins. Paul gave honor to all activity when he instructed the Corinthian Christians that whatever they did they should "do all to the glory of God" [1] a statement that almost equates doing with glorifying. And, if we had no other scriptures on the subject that might surely be the case, but in Isaiah we find that it is not only "doing" that glorifies God, but "resting" as well.

 
When God gave the Ten Commandments He included instruction that one day of the week was to be devoted to rest. Resting on that day was a way of bringing honor and glory to God. It was as much a good thing to rest as it was to refrain from stealing.

Rest was a planned activity on God's calendar. He specifically instructed Israel that when work pressure was at its peak (seedtime and harvest) they were to stop all activity and rest. When the biological need for sleep is added to the hours of commanded rest in the Old Testament, we find people resting 44% of their lives. [2]

 
Modern Christians are divided on how much emphasis should be placed on the Old Testament command for resting on the Sabbath, but we know that Jesus planned times of rest for His disciples [3] and we would do well to follow their example. Unless we have time to rest, pray and be still, we easily lose focus and become easy prey for Satan. In the classic, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster states, "In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry and crowds. If he (Satan) can keep us engaged in "muchness" and manyness," he will rest satisfied."

 
We should not be surprised at this because God, Himself, takes time to rest. [4] Although He does not need physical refreshment like we creatures of clay, He found the rhythm and balance of work and rest to be a valuable thing and declared it "good."

 

Isaiah tells us that the resting place of God is glorious. [5] Just as the day has one type of glory and the night another [6] so giving God glory through our work is one way we honor Him, but it is also true that we glorify Him by resting.