The Forgotten Gift | El Regalo Olvidado | Pastor Kris Bojorquez | Strong Church Mesa, AZ.

May 03, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: God Rested First

God finished creation in six days. On the seventh day, He stopped. Not because He was tired—the One who never grows weary—but to model sacred rest. He looked at everything He made, called it good, and enjoyed it. His first full day with Adam and Eve was a day of rest, not labor. [15:43]

Rest began as a gift before work existed. God designed humans to start from a place of fullness, not scarcity. He didn’t say “earn your rest” but “receive it as my provision.”

You’ve been conditioned to see rest as a reward for exhaustion. What if you reversed the order? Stop today—not because you’ve finished everything, but because He’s already given enough. Where is your reluctance to rest revealing a distrust of His timing?

“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
(Genesis 2:2-3, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for His gift of rest before demanding productivity from yourself.
Challenge: Block one hour today to sit quietly without tasks or screens.

Day 2: Return to Your Rest

The psalmist stares at death’s shadow—tears, stumbling, despair. Yet he commands his soul: “Return to your rest.” Not “find rest” but remember it’s already yours. God rescued him before; that same goodness remains. Rest isn’t a new destination but a homecoming. [07:46]

Jesus proved rest isn’t circumstantial. He slept in storms and fed thousands after withdrawing to pray. The disciples fretted about bread; He reminded them of leftover baskets. Provision precedes the crisis.

Your soul knows this rhythm—work hard, then collapse. But God says rest is your starting line. What responsibility are you carrying that He never asked you to earn?

“Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.”
(Psalm 116:7-8, ESV)

Prayer: Confess one worry to God and say aloud: “Your goodness is my rest.”
Challenge: Write down three past instances of God’s provision to reread when anxious.

Day 3: Manna and the Seventh Day

Israel gathered manna daily—except on the sixth day. God gave double so they’d rest on the seventh. But some still scavenged on the Sabbath, finding nothing. Their distrust turned abundance into scarcity. God’s math multiplies obedience. [30:39]

Rest tests our belief in divine sufficiency. Chick-fil-A closes Sundays yet thrives. God stretches six days of work when we honor the seventh. Hoarding reveals fear; resting proclaims trust.

You check emails on days off, stockpile savings, or hustle side jobs. What practical step would show you trust God more than your hustle?

“On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, ‘How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?’”
(Exodus 16:27-28, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal one area where you’re hoarding instead of trusting.
Challenge: Donate a portion of groceries or funds to someone in need today.

Day 4: Commanded to Cease

God embedded rest in the Ten Commandments—not a suggestion but a law. Murder and adultery made the list; so did Sabbath-breaking. Israel’s survival depended on remembering: productivity isn’t their identity. Ceasing declares, “I am His, not my output.” [26:20]

Jesus redefined Sabbath as liberation, not legalism. He healed on rest days, prioritizing people over rituals. The command protects us from self-worship disguised as work ethic.

What task or role have you made non-negotiable, even at the cost of health or family?

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work.”
(Exodus 20:8-10, ESV)

Prayer: Repent for times you’ve valued productivity over God’s presence.
Challenge: Silence work notifications after 6 PM tonight.

Day 5: Yoke That Gives Rest

Jesus stands in a culture crushing people with religious demands and Roman taxes. He says, “Take my yoke”—a frame joining two oxen. He pulls with you. His rest isn’t inactivity but partnership. The burden shifts; the soul breathes. [41:15]

The world ties your worth to outputs. God measures your value by His Son’s finished work. You labor from acceptance, not for it.

What heavy yoke—approval, perfectionism, financial pressure—have you shouldered alone?

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
(Matthew 11:28-29, ESV)

Prayer: Name one burden aloud and say: “Jesus, I exchange this for Your yoke.”
Challenge: Text a friend: “How can I pray for your heaviest load this week?”

Sermon Summary

May’s focus on mental health frames a pastoral invitation to rediscover Sabbath rest as a spiritual and psychological necessity. Scripture anchors the call: Psalm 116 urges the soul to return to its rest, Genesis 2 shows God gifting rest to humanity before work begins, and Exodus makes weekly rest a commanded rhythm. The biblical portrait treats rest not as earned leisure but as a gift and a form of trust in God, set against a culture that measures worth by productivity and treats rest like weakness. Practical examples show how resting honors God’s provision and counters burnout. The manna narrative in Exodus teaches that provision comes with conditions of trust and stewardship; failing to observe the rest made God’s gift evaporate. Corporate examples such as a company that closes one day a week demonstrate that honoring rest can coexist with flourishing economy and even increase provision. Rest also functions as spiritual realignment. When work becomes an idol or when life’s pace erases the capacity to enjoy created good, God sometimes allows interruption so priorities can be reordered and dependence on God restored. Rest therefore serves the whole person: mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. The pattern God prescribes is not work or rest but work and rest, a weekly rhythm that trains reliance and creates space to enjoy what God has made. The call extends to daily practice: dedicate intentional time for prayer, worship, family, and Sabbath enjoyment without needing expensive outings. Homes can become places of rest by setting aside short, focused rhythms of worship and prayer so the Holy Spirit fills the household atmosphere. The gospel perspective locates ultimate rest in Christ, who invites the weary to find soul-rest under his yoke. The practical challenge encourages a deliberate one-day rest each week for workers and the building of restful rhythms for homemakers, trusting God to sustain provision and reorder hearts toward what truly matters.

Key Takeaways

1. Rest is a gift from God Rest arrives as a divine gift, not an achievement to be earned. Scripture frames Sabbath as God’s provision for human flourishing, given because God has been generous and faithful. Accepting rest means receiving grace and rejecting merit-based self-worth. [12:37]
2. Rest is a divine command God elevates rest from optional advice to a weekly ordinance in the law, signaling its central place in holy living. The command exposes human weakness at self-regulation and protects bodies, families, and communities from endless consumption. Obedience to this rhythm stores spiritual and practical blessing. [24:29]
3. Rest demonstrates trust in God Choosing to rest acts as a concrete confession that God provides and sustains beyond human effort. Rest removes dependence on production and reorients identity toward being loved rather than producing value. This faith posture opens space for supernatural provision. [22:00]
4. God’s provision links to Sabbath obedience The manna story and other examples show that divine provision arrives within a covenant pattern that expects faithful stewardship and rest. Misuse or hoarding of God’s gifts shortens their blessing, while trust and Sabbath observance enlarge what endures. Observing rest safeguards both supply and soul. [31:46]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:13] - Mental health awareness and faith
[01:08] - Biblical view of the mind and heart
[02:34] - Can you remember true rest
[06:27] - Psalm 116: Return to your rest
[12:37] - Rest is a gift from God
[24:29] - Rest is not optional
[31:46] - Manna and the cost of disobedience
[40:33] - Find rest in Christ
[43:17] - Communion and the invitation to trust
[44:58] - Practical challenge to rest this week
[46:55] - Closing prayer and benediction

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Psalm 116:7-8 (ESV): "Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling."
- Exodus 16:27-30 (ESV): "On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. And the LORD said to Moses, 'How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.' So the people rested on the seventh day."
- Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV): "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Observation Questions

In Exodus 16:27-30, what happened when people ignored God’s command to rest on the seventh day? How did God respond?
Psalm 116:7 says, "Return, O my soul, to your rest." What does this imply about rest being something we already possess rather than something to earn? [12:37]
According to the Genesis 2 account, what did God do on the seventh day, and how does this contrast with humanity’s typical approach to work and rest? [17:30]

Interpretation Questions

Why does God command rest in Exodus 16 and Exodus 20 instead of merely suggesting it? What does this reveal about human nature and God’s care?
How does the story of manna in Exodus 16 illustrate the connection between trusting God’s provision and obeying His command to rest? [33:36]
Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30 that His yoke is “easy” and His burden “light.” How does this redefine rest compared to cultural views of productivity and worth?

Application Questions

What practical step could you take this week to intentionally rest (e.g., setting boundaries with work, unplugging from devices, dedicating time to prayer)? How might this act demonstrate trust in God’s provision? [44:58]
Reflect on a time when overwork or burnout affected your mental, emotional, or spiritual health. How might prioritizing rest prevent this in the future?
How could your home become a “place of rest” through simple rhythms like worship music, prayer, or family time? What small change could you make today? [45:32]
Are there areas in your life where productivity or busyness have become idols? What would it look like to surrender those to God and embrace His rhythm of work and rest?
If you struggle to rest, what fears or beliefs about your worth (e.g., “I am what I produce”) might God be inviting you to confront? How can Psalm 116:7-8 reframe this?

Sermon Clips

48s

#RestIsAGift

“The god's as rest is a gift. El mundo dice, reposo se tiene que ganar. Pero dios dice, reposo es un regalo. The world's as rest is weekness. El mundo dice que el el reposo es debilidad. The god's as rest is wisdom. Pero dios dice, el descanso es sabiduría. The world's as, you are what you produce. El mundo dice, tú eres lo que tú produces. The god's as, you are love before you produced anything. Pero dios dice, tú eres amado antes de producir algo.”

40s

#SabbathFromCreation

“The following day, the seven day, el siguiente día, el séptimo día, was the was man's first full day on Earth. Fue el primer día completo del hombre en la tierra, and what does god chuese to do. ¿Y qué es lo que dios escoge hacer? I've created you, now rest. Te creé, te te acabo de crear, hombre, ahora descansa. And god resteed, y dios descansó de todo lo que había hecho, pero el primer día del hombre, but the first day of man was a day of rest.”

53s

#RestIsTrust

“Rest is a form of is a demostration of trust. El descanso, el reposo, es una demostración de confianza. This world my value you by what you do and what you have, but god values you by who you are. Este mundo you are his child, tú eres su hijo, su hija. And if you learn to rest in him, y si aprendes a descansar en él, if you learn to trust him, si aprendes a confiarle, then you will see hit supranatural provision in your life. Vas a ver su provisión sobrenatural en tu vida.”

48s

#TrustGodRest

“Because I loves you so much, porque te ama tanto. That is trying to get your priorities back in order. Quiere poner tus prioridades en orden. That you need to rest. Tienes que descansar. Trust me. Confíame. Dice el señor. Trust me, and I will do more in the five days or six days of work, y haré más en esos 5 días o 6 días de trabajo que tú pudieras hacer en esos 7 días a tu propia cuenta. Got tall them, and he tall us us.”

43s

#StewardshipMatters

“God provides for all your needs. Dios provee para todas tus necesidades. But watch this, entiende esto, how long it last depend on you, pero cuánto de dura depende de ti. If you make bad decisions will be got it's giving you, your never gonna have en off. Si haces malas decisiones con lo que dios te ha dado, nunca vas a tener lo suficiente. Por eso hay gente que vive en deuda. Because the haven managed with god's given them, porque no son buenos mayordomos de lo que dios les ha dado.”

41s

#WorkAndRestBalance

“Dios le dijo a ellos y dios nos dice a nosotros, you have six days to do which you got a do. Tienes 6 días para hacer lo que tengas que hacer, but then I need do to rest. Pero luego necesito que descanses. The pattern that god has give me us, el patrón que dios nos has ha dado is work and rest, es trabajo y reposo, no work or rest, no trabajo o reposar. Work and rest, Trabajo y reposo.”

33s

#RestIsCommand

“But now it become a command. ¿Y? ¿Por qué? Because god knows were terible at resting. Porque dios sabe que somos horribles para descansar. We're the tipo people that will keep going and keep going and keep going to or bodies give out. Somos el tipo de persona que va a seguir y seguir y seguir hasta que nuestro cuerpo ya no pueda. But good eventual this is that's not what I want for you. Pero dios nos está diciendo, no es lo que quiero para ti.”

47s

#EnjoyYourHarvest

“I hurts my heart, daña, duele mi corazón. When I hear stories of people that have worked the reentire lives and never taken a moment to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Cuando escucho historias de gente que han trabajado todas sus vidas y nunca han tomado tiempo para disfrutar el fruto de su labor. Porque eso no es lo que dios hizo. Dios nos hizo para descansar y disfrutar de todo lo que él nos ha dado. God made us to stop and rest and enjoy where he has gived us.”

33s

“The world's as rest is weekness. El mundo dice que el el reposo es debilidad. The god's as rest is wisdom. Pero dios dice, el descanso es sabiduría. The world's as, you are what you produce. El mundo dice, tú eres lo que tú produces. The god's as, you are love before you produced anything. Pero dios dice, tú eres amado antes de producir algo.”