Season 1, Episode 5: Rest!

In times of crisis and stress, we many times underestimate the importance of rest.

Rest is not prioritized in our society. It’s even without priority in the church.  Sunday, the day of “rest” is often so packed full of activities for church it is anything but restful.  Years ago, when playing piano for two or three services a Sunday, plus teaching some kind of Bible study, I used to say MONDAY was my favorite day of the week!  It was EASIER than Sunday!!!  It’s not realistic to think that we can cram all of our spirituality into one day a week and still grow.  God set aside a day of REST, not a day for more running around.  Rest is a spiritual practice and it may not be prioritized by most people,  But it IS prioritized by God.

So why are we so adverse to rest?  You never hear anyone saying “She really knows how to rest.”  But plenty of praise for all the hard work, running around, and handling everything.

Rest takes:

Guts.  It takes guts to say “no” to all the things.  You know… the things that will make you look better, get you more success, make people like you more, give you more control.

Action.  You need to get ready to rest.  It takes planning to fit it into your regular rhythm.

Rest usually ends up being the first item to get crossed off the list when things get tough, if it’s even on the list at all.   Rest should not be low man on the totem pole when it comes to our priorities.  We should be planning to rest, making room in our schedules for it, and teaching our children to do it.

Courage.  Rest is when we can look deep into ourselves.  Rest is when we can think, feel, learn, and absorb.  Many of us are afraid of what we will find when we look deep, dare to listen to God, or try to get to the bottom of what is REALLY bothering us.

COVID story.  In that 2 week isolation, I learned that I CAN rest, I NEED rest, and that God is with me when I rest and will actually be the GIVER of the rest.  He will bring the peace, He will quiet the soul, He will direct the focus if we let Him.

Learning to rest can actually give us a lifestyle of rest, carrying it with us daily.  We shouldn’t get to the point of utter burnout before we give ourselves a rest.  If we can learn to rest as part of our daily lives, we learn a peace that permeates our existence and makes the stress and hard work easier to handle.

Something Sweet!  Instead of just a weekly quote, I decided to make this segment “something sweet” and just share with you something that’s meaningful to me.  This week’s something sweet is a lovely song by Travis Cottrell called “Rest.”  Here is a link to the song on Youtube.  Take a couple of minutes to listen to it and view the lovely scene, and take a rest.

Scriptures referenced:  Isaiah 30:15, Matthew 11:28-29, Hebrews 4:9-11