Rest
At various points in my life I have been forced to rest, notably during illness, pregnancy, after studying hard or meeting a work deadline. I am naturally an introvert so it’s not unusual that I need to rest after a lot of social interaction. For many times this has been sorely needed but lacking due to bad habits, forgetfulness, blind sidedness. Yet I am slowly learning the importance of rest outside of those times. Rest is vital but can be easily forgotten for its significance, or often seen as an indulgence, which can lead to guilt. I believe it is something we must proactively implement as a regular part of our rhythm. The bible mentions rest in various forms at least 72 times.
We need both physical and spiritual rest. At the end of six days creating the earth, God rested and we know this day as our Sabbath. As well as an actual day set aside that has a different routine than the others, rest is something to be mindful of throughout the week. It is helpful to reflect on what helps and what hinders your rest, and what simple things could be incorporated into your routine to aid it.
Such as: Going to bed earlier
Setting an alarm to spend time in the bible in the morning
Exercise!
Making boundaries with devices
Starting a new book or journaling
Turning on your worship music and sitting or lying down at a particular point in the day
Doing something active but restful such as drawing/painting/knitting/baking
Rest is inextricably linked to peacefulness too. It is worth taking time to re-evaluate what you are spending your time doing, who you are spending your time with and so on. Try writing down the areas in your life where you spend your time, energy and resources. Often we reach burnout when we are doing things we are not actually called by God to do and so we run out of energy, or we heavily rely on our own strength.
Sadly, stress and its relatives depression/anxiety/insomnia/irritability/muscle tension/headaches/teeth grinding/appetite change etc. are a typical byproduct of our societies and their often, fast pace, and pressure to perform. In 2018 a UK survey on stress recorded that 74% of adults had felt so stressed at some point in that year that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. 51% of respondents who had felt stressed reported feeling depressed, and 61% reported feeling anxious.
With this in mind let us continue to pray for one another and spur each other on in good habits and good works, including learning when to say no, when to stop, and when to rest.
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
2 Tim 4:7
This scripture, and many others, refers to fighting and running the race, and keeping the faith. Therefore, we are indeed called to action, and please do not mistake my invitation to rest as an invitation to laziness. Elsewhere in scripture we are told not to be idle. However, our cultures seem to hail being busy to the point of affecting our identity. We even wear it as a kind of badge of honour, often answering the question ‘How are you?’ with “I’m busy” “I’m tired” or “I have so much on at work” etc. as if we are proud of this or know not what else to say or prize. We can also sadly tend towards a work-based church culture that keeps us busy too and can lead to spiritual exhaustion.
The question is: How can we run our endurance race if we don't build a sustainable pace that includes regular rest?
Jesus is the perfect model for us, and lives a life we want to emulate as his disciples. As well as spending his earthly ministry time mentoring a small group of disciples, walking around the countryside speaking to large crowds of people, we regularly see that he punctuated this with times pulled away from others, alone or with a few, to rest, pray, and sleep. I don’t believe this is solely because of a temperament trait such as introversion, it could be, either way, he provides an example to follow.
In his books ‘The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry’ and its companion How to Un-Hurry, John Mark Comer emphasizes the need to replace our constant need to hurry and be busy to the very core of our muscle memory. Once he re-constructs this with the spiritual disciplines and rhythms as exemplified by Jesus, he introduces deeper ways to practice rest:
Silence & Solitude
Sabbath
Simplicity
Slowing
Please look up his very practical tips - open the link
Bonnie Gray wrote a blog in Relevant Magazine ‘How Embracing Rest Can Change Your Life.’ In it she writes, “Jesus understands our humanity. Jesus Himself experienced exhaustion and loneliness. He’s tasted weariness, anxiety and stress. God’s heart for rest goes deeper than what we can do for Sabbath. True Sabbath is returning to who God created us to be. Accepted and beloved, just as we are. Jesus invites us to rest. But what would that look like?”
She goes on to assert that rest is one of only three ambitions called out in the New Testament. The other two are to preach the gospel (Romans 15:20) and to please God (2 Corinthians 5:9). In this way, rest is considered to be an essential part of the spiritual disciplines. The Greek word used for “quiet” is hesuchazo: to rest, cease from labour.
I hope during this unknown and, at times, stressful season we can reevaluate and ensure we develop a habit of rest.
Questions
What does rest mean to you?
Do you find it easy to rest?
What changes could you make this week to ensure you rest mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically?
Can you have an accountability partner in this area?
Further Resources
Bonnie Gray - 8 Surprising A-Ha Moments about Rest in the Bible:
