What God Really Meant When He Ordained You Rest
As with all living things, you need to rest. Sleeping is not the only kind of rest you need. Your digestive system and other organs need a rest from their work as well. This understanding of the human need for rest is not new to mankind. God introduced the principle of a Sabbath rest to His ancient Jewish nation. It is one of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:8). Israel was given specific instructions regarding this divine command to work six days and to rest on the seventh day of each week.
This principle of rest was important as well to their agricultural system. The Israelites were commanded to allow their fields to lie fallow every seventh year to give the soil the rest it needed to reestablish its own mineral and nutrient content. (See Lev. 25:1-7.) Today, a decreasing number of modern farmers are following this biblical agricultural principle of resting the soil. As a result, the soil has become depleted of some of the minerals and other nutrients that our bodies crave for health. And chemical fertilizers do not succeed in giving us the abundant mineral content of healthy soil.
It is interesting to note that in the animal kingdom, it is a natural habit to seek rest and to abstain from food, especially when the animal is sick or injured. A sick animal refuses to eat and finds a place to rest where it can lap up water and be safe. Some animals hibernate, resting for an entire season without eating.
Rest is also a powerful principle of healing for the human body and psyche. Every night as you sleep, you are providing refreshing rest for your mind and body, which aids health in a tremendous way. Sleep deprivation is a commonly known form of torture, emphasizing the fact of our innate need for rest. Fasting may be considered an internal rest for the body, allowing it to restore stamina and energy to vital organs by activating the marvelous self-cleansing system with which it is designed.
At the same time, in this toxic world it takes more than a passive approach to health care to live long, healthy, active, disease-free lives. It takes wisdom. Throughout my book Dr. Colbert’s Fasting Zone, I present readers with the wisdom I have gained as a medical doctor since 1984. If you apply those truths in your future, you will reap the wonderful reward of renewed energy, vitality and health.
The power of better health through detoxification is yours. I encourage you to pursue your own good health aggressively by looking carefully at your diet and lifestyle. Your own healthy future is in your hands! But most of all, obey God’s command to rest. {eoa}
This article was adapted from Dr. Colbert’s Fasting Zone: Reset Your Health and Cleanse Your Body in 21 Days by Don Colbert, MD. Copyright ©2020 Published by Charisma House. Used by permission.
