If Rest Feels Unrealistic For Your Life Right Now
“On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.” Genesis 2:2-3 (CSB)
Is the pace of your life exhausting you?
I get it..
Between both me and my wife working full time, raising four children, managing two dogs and juggling the responsibilities in the home, rest has felt like a destination we’ll reach one day (when we’re retired … if we’re lucky).
But recently, I’ve been deeply convicted of the lack of rest in my life. And this goes beyond the amount of sleep I’m getting every night. The tyranny of the urgent weighs on me. My to do lists overflow. There is always something left to be done. I can’t help but feel like I’m falling short and playing catch up constantly. Can you relate?
The tragedy is that living a life without rest is not biblical and it’s not the life that God modeled for us either.
Look at Genesis 2:2-3 with me:
“On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.” (CSB)
I’ve always read this verse and thought God ceased to do anything on the seventh day. But it’s actually not that simple. Yes, God worked for six days and rested on the seventh day, but he didn’t cease to create on the seventh day. He just created in a totally different way. On the seventh day He created peace, tranquility and rest.
And we are invited to create the same attributes in our lives by incorporating this rhythm of rest, that the Bible refers to as Sabbath, into our weekly routines.
My family recently started doing an intentional Sabbath one day a week. On this day, we rest. But like God modeled for us in Genesis, we don’t stop all activity. We just work in a different way. We learn how to live in the serenity of an unhurried existence that is still long enough to feel God’s presence, hear God’s instruction and see God’s blessing.
God designed Sabbath to be what fuels and energizes us. Not what we work ourselves to the bone to achieve and experience.
If the Sabbath has felt unrealistic or overwhelming to you, I get it. If you’re there today, I want to share 3 simple things my family and I work into this weekly rhythm:
We set intentions on the morning of the Sabbath by asking ourselves (my kids included!) “What is one way we want to recharge today?” Sometimes that looks like reading a book, taking a nap, or going on a walk.
We reduce technology and pick a family board game to play.
My wife and I cook dinner together and we also all eat together at the table.
Don’t let the misconceptions of what Sabbath “has to look like” get in the way of trying it at all. There have been some bumps in the road and my family and I definitely aren’t doing it perfectly, but we are doing it. And we’re experiencing the fruit of a life that is well rested as we follow the instruction of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (CSB)
There are inescapable aspects of life we are all marked by. We have less control than we want, more anxiety than we're comfortable with and just enough insecurity to continually remind us of our shortcomings. To experience these things is to be human … We aren't superheroes and invincibility isn't an option. But humility is. Exchange the exhausted pace you’ve been running at for the kind of soul-peace only God can provide in the pages of Dr. Joel Muddmalle’s new book, The Hidden Peace: Finding True Security, Strength, and Confidence Through Humility.
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