And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. 

Genesis 2:2–3

Excellent stories have compelling beginnings. The story God tells in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, has a very good beginning. There is nothing, and then there is everything. Over six days, God speaks the entire cosmos into being—it is the most productive workweek imaginable. But what happens next is striking. God stops. Into his pattern of daily work, he weaves an entire day of rest. It’s a holy pause. 

Did God stop because he was tired? The work of creating an entire universe exhausted him, and he needed to catch his breath? Absolutely not. This is the God who needs “neither slumber nor sleep” (Ps. 121:4), who is all-powerful and all-creative, who possesses a well of infinite resources and strength from which to draw for all eternity. No, God rested because he knew the creatures he had made in his image—including you and me—would need rest. 

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