I find it ironic that the week that I was scheduled to write an article on rest, I was a week overdue in writing it because I was too busy! Rest is something that we all find elusive, especially when we are in ministry and can’t seem to keep up with ourselves coming and going. I think sometimes we find ourselves longing for a simpler time. There is no question that in the last one hundred years, the speed of our lives has accelerated, but when I long for those days, I remember one of my grandmother’s many wise sayings.
One day when we were standing in the back room of the farmhouse that has been in her family since the days of the Homestead Act, she told me, “Some things about the good ol’ days weren’t so good.” I had been noticing the old metal and wood washboard hanging on the wall. As I remarked about it, ready for some idealistic story about life on the farm years back, she related how much work it was to wash clothes for her family in those days. I’m sure life was just as complicated then when there was so much pressure to keep up on day-to-day tasks just to survive. It was just a different kind of tired!
Taking the time to rest has always been hard for us human beings. Even the Israelites struggled to do so. In fact, God told them that part of the reason they were being sent into exile for 70 years was because they “owed” God those years of rest—one for every seventh year out of the 490 years that they didn’t follow the command to let the land lie fallow for the Sabbath rest (Leviticus 25:4; 26:27, 34-35; 2 Chronicles 35:21-22; 36:20-21).
I think they chose not to rest for the same reasons we do: we just don’t trust God to take care of things while we wait. Everything feels so urgent for us. We’re worried about having enough to provide for our families. We think that we are the only ones who can minister to that person right at the time they are begging for our attention. And we just plain like to feel productive because we feel more valued when we “do” things.
All the above have been my Sabbath sins: lack of faith, setting myself up as a god, fearing displeasing others by saying “no,” and pride in my own accomplishments.
These attitudes have kept me from resting as I should. Now, I’m not talking about not working on Sundays; that’s really not possible when you are a pastor and his wife. And I’m not talking about some legalistic rules about when to rest. Jesus told us that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).
So…how do I get that elusive rest, especially when getting a straight 24 hours of complete rest might be truly impossible? Some stages in life just don’t allow it, like when you care for a newborn or a sick parent.
Jesus gives us the answer: Come to Me all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28, emphasis mine).
He says come to Me—His Spirit will direct us in every stage and at every moment to show us when and how and how long to rest. Rest is more about an attitude of resting in Him and letting Him direct us into the kind of rest we need.
Resting might simply mean taking a fifteen-minute walk and just breathing in His presence quietly before you head back to your busy responsibilities at home.
Rest might mean scheduling an extended time alone with Him and totally away from family and friends.
Rest might mean taking a nap or taking some time for a hobby.
It might even just mean lying down at night before you go to sleep and praying through all your worries to heave your burdens onto Him.
We need to examine ourselves to be sure none of those previously-mentioned Sabbath sins are at the root of our choice not to rest. And, we need to listen to His Spirit to show us how to rest.
Ultimately, it means coming back to what we’ve discussed all this year: the Living Word is the One who gives us rest.
Come to Me, Jesus says. I will give you rest: rest from your burdens, your hurt, your pain, your exhaustion, your suffering, your busy and overwhelmed life. He will give rest, regardless of your circumstance.
He can turn your Sabbath sin into true Sabbath rest.
Taking It Further:
What kinds of activities do you find restful? How can you incorporate those more into your life today? What kind of rest do you need this week?
Thanks so much for this article! This is what I needed to hear this week.
You are welcome; as my article suggests, I need to hear this message frequently, too!! It’s too easy to get caught up in life and forget to rest.