Our most notorious industrial accidents in recent years--Exxon Valdez, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, the fatal navigational error of Korean Air Lines 007--all occurred in the middle of the night.
When the USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian A300 airbus killing all 290 people aboard, fatigue-stressed operators in the high-tech Combat Information Center on the carrier misinterpreted radar data and repeatedly told their captain the jet was descending as if to attack when in fact the airliner remained on a normal flight path.
In the Challenger space shuttle disaster, key NASA officials made the ill-fated decision to go ahead with the launch after working twenty hours straight and getting only two to three hours of sleep the night before. Their error in judgment cost the lives of seven astronauts and nearly killed the U.S. space program. We ignore our need for rest and renewal at the peril of others and ourselves.
Are you needing some extra rest today? Isn't it nice to know that God expects us to take it for our own good? During this hectic holiday season, don't forget to sit down, take a few moments, and rest!
It hasn't been the easiest year, and resting in the knowledge that God loves you and wants to save you is such an amazing "balm" for the harried soul.
