Recent statistical data shows that almost 50% of households worldwide own a computer and approximately 3 billion individuals worldwide own a smartphone. If you fall into either or both of those categories, you are probably familiar with terms such as, refresh, restart, and restore to factory settings. Many software updates will not take affect until after you restart your computer. How many times have you seen this message; new software updates have been downloaded requiring a restart? Do you want to restart your computer now? In order to efficiently operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, manufacturers determined periodic restarts are a necessity. The human body that God created also functions non-stop and is more complex and efficient than any of those devices. And yes, God’s Owners Manual – The Bible – makes us aware that the periodic renewal of our body is a necessity.
1 The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them. 2 By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. 3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation. Gen 2:1-3 Net Bible
Moses tells us that after God created everything, “he ceased on the seventh day all the work” or “He rested” – King James Version. Unlike us, God is Omnipotent and does not need to rest because He never gets tired. Apparently then, God is giving His creation – mankind – the key to living and operating at the level of efficiency we were created to be. “Part of bearing the likeness of God involves resting as He did after completing His work.” Dr. Thomas Constable, Constable’s Notes.
Taking time to refresh/renew our mind and body is so significant that God included it as the fourth of The Ten Commandments.
Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy. For six days you may 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, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.
For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. Exodus 20:8-11 Net Bible
The Hebrew word for Sabbath is Shabbat, which comes from the Hebrew word shavat. Shavat means to “cease,” or “desist.” Hence, Sabbath literally means a day of rest.
Pastor Rick Warren taught a series of lessons titled, Building My Life on Values That Last. He titled one section, The Balanced Life, and listed three things we should do on the Sabbath: Rest our body, Recharge our emotions, and Refocus our spirit/worship. Those simple tasks will ignite physical, mental, and spiritual renewal in our daily lives.
COVID-19, the political landscape, climate change, social injustice, hurricanes, and Apple deliberately reducing the performance of my old iPhone is more than enough to cause me to push the refresh button.
Brenda will often call me at work and say “the cable isn’t working in the family room.” That’s her way of saying, I need to fix it. So I accept
the assignment, rush home, and within two minutes – problem solved. Of course she asks, “how did you do that?” I usually make up a
phony technical answer like, “the signal feed from one of the various transmitting locations or head end malfunctioned and I had to
recalibrate the system.” HA! Really, I just unplugged the cable box from the electrical outlet, waited 30 seconds, and plugged it back in.
Now what makes that work? I don’t have a clue. Please don’t tell Brenda. But the fact remains that a little break goes a long way toward
keeping people and machines operating efficiently.
Tis The Season To Renew
Written by Henry Hopson, Jr.