What would it take for you to just not work for an entire year? Can you even imagine it? It would be so fun! Oh wait, what about food, clothing and all that?
When talking to Moses on Mt. Sinai God commands Israel to not work for an entire year, every 7 years. God anticipates our biggest concern about provision by saying… “The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely. And if you say, what shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop? I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. When you sow in the eighth year you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.” Leviticus 25:19-22
No one can find any historical evidence that Israel ever took off that year, which isn’t a surprise to me. It’s hard to trust the Lord when he says outlandish things like the 6th year will be so productive that you will still be eating it in the 9th year. It would be tempting after such a great yield in the 6th year to just keep working while things are good. God knows that cultivating our hearts to rest and trust him is way more difficult then providing food or money. That’s why he uses all his authority to command his very own blessing on you. Start asking for this blessing of rest today, start in small ways. Who knows, maybe in 6 years we will have all built up the courage and faith to take a year off together…
Adam
Pastor Adam was born and raised in Seattle Washington always sensing God’s call to pastoral ministry. While attending Christian College he met Val, a nice girl from Orlando.