REST
ANXIETY
«Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation» (Psalm 62:1).
Proper rest plays a key role in controlling stress and anxiety. It also reduces the negative effects of stress and anxiety on people’s physical health. The weekly rest has been a topic of reflection in academic literature. According to the researchers Margaret Diddams, Lisa Klein Surdyk and Denise Daniels from the Seattle Pacific University (USA), there is an increasing interest in keeping a weekly rest as a counterbalance to our culture’s consumerism, exhaustion and loss of separation between work and other areas of life. In their article «Rediscovering Models of Sabbath Keeping: Implications for Psychological Well-being,» they identified three models of observation of the weekly rest which have implications for well-being. The models are: a) Lile Segmentation which refers to basically segment life in order to create a respite ( or example, six days of work and one of rest); b) Meaning, implies giving a positive and religious meaning to life segmentation; and c) Integrated Sabbath, in which Sabbath keeping is celebrated as an integrated belief system of daily rest, reflection and developing relationship.
From another point of view, the prominent doctor Osamu Itani, from the School of Medicine of Nihon University in Japan, investigated the connection between weekly rest and the onset of lifestyle-related diseases. After analyzing the health records of more than 30,000 men for seven years, he found out that working only on regular hours and taking advantage of the weekly rest can contribute to the prevention of such diseases.
Beyond the physical and psychological benefits of Sabbath rest, learning to rest in God, having faith in Him on a daily basis and believing in His Word are necessities that only few admit. By putting our trust in Him, we can achieve peace and hope in the midst of adversities and suffering. This is why the Bible tells us, «Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest» (Exod. 34:21). seventh day, identified as the Sabbath, has been blessed and sanctified (put aside) by God since Creation (Gen. 2:3).
We invite you today to find an absolute rest in the respite that God is offering you in the midst of your hectic and restless life. Likewise, we encourage you to plan a weekly Sabbath rest. You will see that even the greatest anxiety can be soothed when you confidently rest in God. Then you could say, «Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation.”
#AdultsDevotional
#RadioJovenAdventista
#MeditacionesDiarias
Taken from: Daily Devotions for Adults 2020
“A Cheerful Heart Is Good Medicine”
From: Julian Melgoza-Laura Fidanza
Colaboradores: Yudith C & Alejandra Zavala