“A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest; So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.” (Proverbs 24:33-34 NKJV)
This passage is alluding to the kind of rest and sleep that are aversion to work productive. Like the wicked servant the Lord Jesus told in the parable of the talent, who intently did not do anything, so to keep the talent he was given from increase. It is driven by selfishness, contempt, laziness and wickedness. Result is crystal clear - poverty!
Yes, physical rest is essential to refresh and restock energy so we can work fruitfully. Rest and sleep at its proper time and place is in the system of God's plan for living under the sun. God sets the example when He rested after six days of creative work. On the Seventh day we are to rest and every night we sleep. As we rest, God works.
We sow seeds of resources, skills and talents we are given. Then, we sleep. As we sleep, the seeds grow. Then we rise in the morning of a new day - we see the seeds sprout and we don't know how (Mark 4:26-27). God's system works. We just have to do our part - no stolen rest, no little sleep and no sneaky slumbering. But, rather we are to be focused while we are on the job. Our true rest is not in slumbering, but in the finished work of Jesus on the cross by His grace through faith in Him (Matthew 11:28-30).
We are expected to make an increase of what we have been entrusted, with full trust in the Lord, to honor Him. As His children of grace by faith in Christ Jesus, we should be like that servant in the Lord's parable who doubles the talent he was given. Not the sluggard and contemptuous one. In the parable, Lord Jesus said to the lazy servant: “So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Matthew 25:28-30 ESV)
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
(When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.)
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
We are expected to make an increase of what we have been entrusted, with full trust in the Lord, to honor Him. As His children of grace by faith in Christ Jesus, we should be like that servant in the Lord's parable who doubles the talent he was given. Not the sluggard and contemptuous one. In the parable, Lord Jesus said to the lazy servant: “So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Matthew 25:28-30 ESV)
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
(When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.)
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
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