Refueling, Regeneration, Encouragement, Hope

“It would be nice if life were so calm and consistent that we never had occasion to feel discouraged or depleted. If there were no tribulation in our lives, no difficult or taxing circumstances that consumed our spiritual and emotional capital, we would have little need for any restoration to our soul. But life isn’t calm or consistent, and we all face times that drain us of strength. Fatigue is a debilitating fact for all of us. We all get tired. This is why we all need sleep, we all need a break from our routines, we all need a vacation, however brief or inexpensive it might be.

"Certainly this is the reason God ordained a Sabbath. Rabbi Harold S. Kushner has written regarding Exodus 31:17: 'In six days the Lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.' He notes that in Hebrew, the verbs that translate 'rest' and 'refreshed' are shavat, meaning He stopped (from which the word Sabbath comes) and yinafash, meaning literally He got his soul back.

"If God needs rest and refreshing, needs to 'get His soul back' (if only symbolically and as an example for us), then surely we do as well. Every one of us needs refueling, regeneration, encouragement, hope. Fortunately, God has structured life in ways that we can get these if we will.”

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland