By Rhonda Stinson
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” -Anne Bradstreet
As I was busy refinishing an old wooden desk, something from a podcast caught my attention. The speaker was talking about cherry trees and began explaining the number of chill hours needed for various trees. I found out that they require a certain number of hours in temperatures between 32 and 45 degrees during dormancy. The chill hours are needed for these plants and trees to flower and produce fruit the following spring. Lack of necessary chill-time can result in delayed growth and reduced fruit production. Too many hours may cause the trees to break dormancy too early making them more susceptible to frost damage or other stresses.
An apple tree requires much more chill time than a peach tree. This is why Georgia produces delicious peaches and Pennsylvania produces juicy apples. It was also interesting to find that trees have a God-given clock in them. This clock actually counts the amount of chill days so that the trees do not start sprouting during a brief warm spell. Isn’t that fascinating?!!
We require physical and spiritual rest. Everything in God’s creation needs a time of rest, or dormancy. When we don’t get the proper rest the body requires, we reap the consequences: lack of production, restlessness, irritability, depression, lack of motivation and more. Proper rest is necessary for every human.
Our muscles need time to recover and heal. Even if we feel energetic and don’t want to rest, God instructs us to do so. “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done” (Genesis 2:2).
God didn’t rest because He was tired. God never gets tired. He rested to leave us an example because He knew we would need rest. My rest day is Sunday. I get refueled by going to church where I am fed the Word of God and energized by using my gifts to exhort my fellow believers. I am then ready to go back into the world as a shining light. Proper nutrition, rest and exercise are needed for physical health while time spent in God’s Word and in prayer are necessary ingredients to a healthy spiritual life.
Are you struggling with rest in certain areas of life? Do you desire to begin a life of healing? Living in Truth Ministries offers a 10-week program (Eyes Wide Open) which addresses spiritual and emotional healing from worldly lies surrounding food, body-image, and self-esteem. The program can be done with a group or through individual study. This might be the time of rest waiting for you. Just like the tree, lack of rest results in decay and possibly death. What better way to start the New Year off than with a step toward freedom!
“Have mercy on me Lord, for I am faint. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony” (Psalm 6:2).
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they” (Matthew 6:26)?
Looking for a way to connect with God daily? Check out our daily devotional books: Living in Truth Day by Day *** Living in Truth Mind, Body, Spirit
