The courage to rest

During the wonderful holiday last weekend, I was laid up with pain from spinal stenosis.

 

It's a recurring issue that can lie dormant for months or years. But when it hits, I need to rest

- usually on top of several bags of ice. Resting is not my normal habit. But it should be.

 

If we are going to tell a good story with our lives, we must learn to rest well. God designed

human beings with limits. We need daily sleep and regular rhythms of rest. Ignoring those limits isn't strength—it's resistance to the way we were made.

 

Our culture often celebrates exhaustion. We hear sayings like, "Sleep is for the weak," or

"I'll sleep when I'm dead." Entire industries exist to help us stay awake. Yet our constant busyness comes with a cost. We often treat rest as laziness instead of seeing it as part of faithful living.

 

The Bible presents a very different vision. In Scripture, rest is woven into creation itself.

The Hebrew day began at sundown-not with work, but with stopping. The rhythm of life began with rest and then moved into labor. Even more striking, God built Sabbath into the weekly pattern of life.

 

Jesus Himself embraced rest. One of the most memorable scenes in the Gospels takes place during a storm at sea. The disciples were terrified as waves crashed over the boat, but Jesus was asleep. While they panicked, He rested. When awakened, He calmed the storm and asked, "Why are you so afraid?"

 

The lesson isn't simply that Jesus had power over nature. His example reminds us that trust and rest are connected. Strong faith is not frantic. Sometimes the most faithful response is to be still. Charles Spurgeon once said, "God gave us sleep to remind us we are not Him."

 

Every time our energy fades, we remember something important: we are creatures, not creators. Rest is part of our design. That design matters because fatigue changes us. Tired people make poor decisions. Exhaustion weakens courage, clouds judgment, and creates anxiety. We are not meant to run endlessly.

 

God knew this, which is why rest became one of the Ten Commandments. "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy." God gave humanity a maintenance schedule: six days of work and one day of rest. Sabbath exists for at least three purposes: to strengthen the body, restore the soul, and renew the mind.

 

First, rest strengthens the body. Even modern research confirms what Scripture taught long ago: people cannot function indefinitely without recovery. Productivity declines, mistakes increase, and health suffers when people push beyond healthy limits.

 

Yet many people continue to live at an unsustainable pace. Part of this comes from unrealistic expectations. We want more, faster. We take on debt, increase obligations, and work longer to maintain lifestyles that leave little margin. Families become stretched thin.

 

Relationships suffer. Souls become exhausted. One sign that life is out of balance is the inability to stop.

 

God rested after creation— not because He was tired, but because He was setting an example. If God, who governs the universe, paused to enjoy what He had made, then surely we can step away from our work.

 

Rest cannot simply be postponed until exhaustion forces us to stop. You cannot continually drain yourself and expect occasional vacations to repair everything. Our bodies need regular rhythms of restoration.

 

Second, rest restores the soul. Psalm 127 says: "In vain you rise early and stay up late... for He grants sleep to those He loves." Sleep itself becomes an act of trust. When we refuse to rest because we feel responsible for solving everything, we act as if the world depends entirely on us. Rest reminds us that God continues working even while we sleep.

 

But restoring the soul involves more than sleep. It also includes worship. Weekly gathering with a church family is not merely a religious obligation-it is part of God's design for renewal. Christianity was never intended to be solitary. Through Christ, God's presence now lives within His people. When believers gather, we bring encouragement, truth, prayer, and worship into one another's lives. Church becomes a spiritual oasis where tired hearts are refreshed and people remember what is ultimately true: God is still in control.

 

Finally, rest renews the mind. Rest is not just the absence of work—it includes enjoyment.

 

Many people feel guilty when they stop being productive. But that guilt often reveals unhealthy thinking. Some of us secretly believe our worth comes from our output. Work can become an idol.

 

Jesus said, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Rest includes recreation, delight, creativity, and leisure. It means doing things that restore joy and remind us that life is more than accomplishment.

 

Paint. Walk. Golf. Read. Build puzzles. Sit quietly. Laugh with friends. Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God." One ancient translation rendered it this way: "Have leisure, and know that I am God."

 

The purpose of Sabbath is not guilt—it is grace. Jesus corrected people who had turned Sabbath into a burden. He reminded them: "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." God did not create people to serve a day; He gave people a day as a gift.

 

Whether your sabbath is on Sunday or another day, the principle remains: build intentional time for worship, restoration, and delight into your life.

 

So here is the challenge:

What needs to change so that you can rest well?

Do you need better sleep habits?

Do you need firmer limits on work?

Do you need a weekly Sabbath?

God's invitation is simple: Come away. Be still. Get some rest.