The Trouble with Rest
Earlier this summer, my husband taught a series on the Sabbath. The title was Blessed and Set Apart. At first, I wasn’t thrilled with the series title. It felt a little old school to me. I laugh as I type. Little did I realize that was God’s description of the Sabbath. The one day that God gives us to rest is blessed and set apart. Old school is pretty remarkable!
The other thing that was remarkable about the series was how challenging it was for many to apply what we were learning. Destroy the stereotype of strict rules and a day of just going to church all day. Instead, imagine that God loves you so much that He will give you enough during your six days of productivity to not have to work on the seventh day, so you can worship Him and enjoy the family and provisions He has given you. Imagine if you were intentional to create your favorite day of the week.
We complain all the time about being busy and tired… and yet, when we’re challenged to actually rest as instructed, we struggle.
Listen, I’m on the struggle bus with you. Resting does not come easily to me. As much as I can moan, I’m way more comfortable being busy than being still. I’ve been trying to dissect the struggle so we can solve it and I’m convinced many of us struggling to have a Sabbath might relate to one of these scenarios:
1. We’ve legitimately got too much to do.
2. We feel like we’re losing ground when we slow down.
3. We don’t know how to stay still.
4. Our life isn’t peaceful when we slow down.
If you haven’t implemented a Sabbath recently, I encourage you to find the best 24 hours in a week and consistently spend that time prioritizing God and celebrating life with those you love. Take a walk, linger in some personal time of worship, listen to a podcast, read a book, go to lunch with a friend, get lost in your thoughts in an extended priority time, snuggle with your kids, enjoy an unhurried meal together with your family or some friends… or both. Think of an unhurried and “uncalendered” day each week.
If you have tried resting recently and have found yourself struggling, are there any of the four possibilities above that resonate with you? I can relate to the first three. I’m in a stage of life where number 4 is no longer an issue. I don’t have babies crying on my Sabbath or teenagers keeping me up late. But the other three are all thoughts I have. So, here’s my challenge to both you and me:
The Sabbath is similar to a tithe. It strikes at an area we want to control. What we’re saying with our actions is, “God, we’ll let you have all of our life, except the two most precious commodities you give us: time and money.” Or, “God, you provide all things and you have determined the number of hairs on my head and days on this earth, but I don’t trust that you know what’s best regarding my time.” Ouch.
Sometimes, we accidentally get adrenalin from being busy. Sometimes, we accidentally make ourselves busy so we don’t have to slow down and process the pains of life. The cumulative effects of both are not what we desire.
The trouble with rest is it requires us to relinquish control and the belief that we know what’s best. It requires us to tap into parts of ourselves that our culture has helped minimize or numb. Yet the journey to become the best version of ourselves requires us to agree that God knows better than us… and to trust that rest is what we need.