END OF THE YEAR
June 14, 2019
Prayer: We praise You Lord for what You have done this year. With hearts full of gratitude we bow before Your throne. We praise You alone.
Scripture: By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. Genesis 2:2 NIV
Here we are at the end of another year. I always wonder as I write this what God has done in your lives between the “Greeting” and the “End of the Year.” I know that He has delighted you in many remarkable ways. I know He has protected you from many things and you probably have passed through a test or two. You will have laughed and cried. And, I pray, grown in your relationship with Jesus Christ and other Christians in ways you never thought possible. Now it is time to rest.
I am guessing someone just laughed out loud. Frightening how our summer calendars are filled to the brim before summer even gets here. Camps, sports, vacation, relatives, guests, projects, appointments that we have put off, and so much more seems to take over every moment of our summer. When do you rest? Have we become so great that, unlike our Lord, we cannot take a time to be still and celebrate what we have done? Even our Lord took a day of rest. Are we far too important or busy to follow His example?
“Rest” in this verse comes from the Hebrew primitive root; to repose, that is, desist from exertion; (cause to, let, make to) cease, celebrate, leave, put away (down), (make to) rest, rid, still. Please allow me to ask you to be still, to put away, leave and celebrate all that God has done through you this year. The task has been completed. The race is finished – for now. You deserve it!
Copyright Kathy Branzell. Email [email protected]