I’ve been asking the Lord what my next blog post should be on and the word “rest” keeps coming to mind. It’s actually quite funny that I would write on resting because I have been really bad at doing this very thing lately. I say this to tell you, that I am guilty as charge and need to listen to my own words.
So often, we get so wrapped up in our lives that we (I) forget to rest. We have to keep busy. We have to keep going. If we stop to rest we are just being lazy. These are all lies I have told myself, and I’m sure others have said as well. For me, these are things I tell myself regularly and have been telling myself for a long time.
The Bible talks about rest. God was the first one to rest. In Genesis we read “on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” Genesis 2:2-3 God doesn’t need to rest, he’s God. He rested to set an example for the rest of us. He rested to let us know that it’s okay to rest. In fact, we should rest. God knew we needed to rest, so he went first and rested himself.
Resting is so important that one of the 10 commandments talks about rest. Exodus 20:8-10 says “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all of your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work.” I used to be really good at keeping the Sabbath. All through grad school, I refused to do any homework on Sunday’s because I knew God called me to rest. If I couldn’t rest on a Sunday, I would make sure I took another day that week and rested. Then I got out of the habit, and next thing I know I’m never resting.
It’s important to rest. Resting gives us energy. When we don’t rest, we burn out. We lose our energy. And in my experience, it’s really hard to do the things God has called us to do, and do them well, if we are tired. Someone recently told me you can still run while you rest. There is so much truth to that statement. Just because we rest, doesn’t mean we stop running. We can still run after all God has for us, even when we rest.
I have been trying to get back to being able to rest from time to time. It’s something I have recognized I needed, and others that are close to me have recognized I needed as well. There have been a few times recently when I have had the opportunity to rest. During these times I always find myself sitting on my couch in my usual spot and closing my eyes. As I feel the presence of God, I don’t want to leave that spot. If you are like me, when you are in the presence of God, you don’t want to leave. You want the feeling to last forever. It was a feeling I had been missing out on because I had been keeping so busy. Now that I am experiencing being in God’s presence in that way again, I crave it, and look forward to opportunities where I can just sit on my couch and close my eyes.
The presence of God is the place I enjoy being the most. Matthew 11:28 says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” When we enter into the presence of God, he gives us rest! Resting tends to be reactive. Most people rest because they are tired. We don’t have to rest just when we are tired. In fact, we can be proactive. We can rest, just because it’s good to rest. We don’t have to wait and react to our tiredness. We can rest before we are ever tired. God doesn’t require us to be tired before we can rest in him, but he does tell us to come to him when we are weary and he will give us rest. I want it to be my desire to rest in the presence of God, even when I don’t think I need to rest. When we rest in the presence of God, it doesn’t matter how busy we are, he will still sustain us.
I pray that you will find time to rest and that you will rest in the presence of God. He is the one that can sustain you and give you the energy you need to do what he has called you to do. I frequently pray “God give me the energy to face the day.” I usually pray this because I’m tired, but I also know that God is the supplier of my energy. Even on the days when I should be the most tired, God always sustains my energy when I seek him. So today, rest in the presence of God. You can rest while you run and you can run while you rest when you’re in God’s presence.