ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

midnight is worth two after midnight. And it’s not just a matter of sleep specifically, but disengaging in general.As Scripture says in another Psalm: “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (46:10). This means learning to say no and cre- ating more margin, or what I call “white space,” in your life.There comes a time when you’ve got to chill out and get off the grid and “sit a spell.” I read where one man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest.The challenger worked vigorously, stopping only for a short lunch break.The other man took a leisurely lunch, as well as numerous breaks during the day.At day’s end, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to discover that his competition had chopped substantially more wood than him. “I don’t get it,” he said. “Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did.” “But you didn’t notice,” said the winner, “that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest.” Our best comes from rest, as these woodsmen discovered. One key way to accomplish the above is by keeping the Sab- bath – which by the way, is one of theTen Commandments.Voltaire, the 18 th Century Enlightenment writer, predicted that within 100 years of his life (1694-1778) Christianity would fade into history. The anti-Christian Frenchman suggested that for this to happen, the world would first have to get rid of Sunday. He said, “There is no hope of destroying Christianity so long as the Christian Sabbath is acknowledged and kept as a sacred day.” 60 Much toVoltaire’s post-mortem dismay, Christianity is thriving. New churches are forming and more names are continually being written in the Lamb’s book of life. Yet the Sabbath is not only about kingdom preservation, but individual restoration as well.As Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).The emphasis

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