It was Augustine who said that our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God. Martin Luther was a little more direct when he called the heart a factory of idols.
Our hearts chase things -- there are so many alluring things in the world that we can sometimes feel like our hearts are spinning after so many desirable things. I was recently in Miami on South Beach, and my head was on a swivel to look at all the high-end cars with loud engines. There must be some city ordinance that Collins Drive always has at least two Lamborghinis on it at all times. For someone who grew up with a poster of one on my wall, there was a lot to look at. It distracted me from whatever I was trying to focus on, which diminished in value in comparison to the Lamborghini racing by.
We do this with lots of things -- our hearts are restless, racing after possessions and status and money and people. So many things seek to claim the top spot in our hearts, and it exhausts and distracts us. Until we can let our hearts rest in God, depending on the Lord to lead our hearts and minds, we'll always be fighting this battle, giving pieces of our hearts away to plenty of worldly things. Sabbath rest helps us fight this battle, for when we celebrate the Sabbath, we set aside all those worldly things and let God lead our hearts. In the still, small spaces, we can often hear God speaking in ways we miss when the volume is turned up to 11 and we're racing from event to event.
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