Are You Rested?

I woke up this morning with a horrible feeling. I got up, read for a while, journaled, and then read again. What’s wrong with this picture? Absolutely nothing. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I should be doing something else—something more productive.

And then it hit me. I’m not able to rest. Or at least I had a hard time today. I mean, how do you turn off your brain and do something leisurely when it is going ninety miles an hour every other day of the week? And that is my problem.

We live in a culture that idolizes getting things done. Now I believe firmly in productivity. But I also believe that God did not create us to work 90 hours a week for the duration of our lives. God gave us rest for a reason. Psalm 127:2 says that he “gives to his beloved sleep.” Even the Ten Commandments give us parameters for rest (Exodus 20:8-11). He wants us to rest. He created us for rest. We are not God. Unlike God we get tired and we get burned out.

God is so kind to build a need for rest into our very physical makeup because it shows us our need for him. The fact that I can’t keep my eyes opened past 10:00 pm is humbling. But I need that. I need the reality check that my exhaustion is a tender pull from the Creator that I need to lean into him for rest and strength. Denying that the need exists only makes me unfaithful in the long run.

Rest also prepares us for greater fruitfulness later. When we recharge we are preparing ourselves to work at full capacity. Because we have an unchangeable need for rest we have to learn that a lack of rest will only make us unfaithful in the tasks that God has called us to. When we obey our need for rest we come back ready and able to hit the ground running to fulfill God’s plan for our life.

And finally, our need for rest helps us understand our makeup. God created all human beings in his image. But he did not create all human beings the same. Some have greater stamina than others. My husband can function well on far less sleep than me. I need to understand that about myself. If I don’t, I will continually live under the sinful shadow of comparison—and that will never serve me in the long run.

So I’m going to get some much needed rest today and tomorrow. If you are exhausted, overwhelmed, and twitching like me this Saturday take these realities as a loving pull from your Father that you are created for rest. In this life and in the one to come.