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It is in vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, and to eat the bread of hard toil, for He gives sleep to His beloved.

Psalm 127:2, MEV

In a 24/7/365 world, it is easy to get caught up in the nonstop pressure as we pursue excellence and achievement. God did not desire this and established for us a pattern to afford us rest in our labors. He divided time perfectly for this, but, like most gifts our Lord has given us, we abuse the time we are given by our Lord. We try to always do more and justify it because “hard work is a sign of good character.” We fail to see the bondage that this pattern creates in our lives and forget the history of the motto, “Work will make you free!” Overwork of our body is not only disobedient to God and His design, but is a tool which the devil utilizes to distract us away from our Lord and His promises. We worry about not having enough and become discontented in our lives. We are led away from worshiping our Lord to worshiping the time clock. Our weekends become less about spending time at rest and in prayer, to catching up with things we were unable to complete. Our Lord desires for us to rest because He loves us and He wants us to know His peace.

Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.