Forward- Part 4

Have you ever found yourself saying, “I wish there were more hours in a day so I could just get everything done?” I know I have said this phrase many times. So often, I find myself drowning in homework, work, church activities, and trying to maintain a social life. While working hard, aspiring for excellence, and building relationships are all things God encourages, there is another activity God commands His people to do that is markedly overlooked. Just as God commands His followers to do everything with excellence (Colossians 3:23), He also instructs that rest be a habit incorporated into daily life (Exodus 20:8).

Personally, I know I have been guilty of diminishing the importance of stopping amidst the busyness to reflect and rest. I have often viewed rest as a sort of “time waster.” If I’m not doing anything, it feels like I’m not being productive. However, I am learning that rest is not a time waster, nor is it unproductive. Rather, it is an essential ingredient to health that cultivates productivity. In fact, when the human body goes without rest for an extended period of time, it begins to shut down. God designed humanity with a necessity to rest. Therefore, it is vital that we honor His creation and command by setting aside time to rejuvenate.

As we learned from Sunday’s sermon, rest is something that we must intentionally incorporate into our lives. If it seems that our schedule does not allow for a single moment of free-time, perhaps the first thing to do is cut out some activities. Once a time frame for rest is established, it is important to make sure that the time set aside is truly restful. If your time of rest is spent worrying about the next thing that needs to get done, perhaps you are going about rest in the wrong way. While identifying a restful activity may look different for each person, it is necessary to find something that works for you.

If you find yourself struggling to make time for rest, or simply feel like nothing you do is restful, I challenge you to start by opening a time slot for rest this week. It could be something as simple as taking 20 minutes in the morning to drink coffee and read the Bible, or could be taking a day this weekend to hang out with family and have fun together. Instead of viewing rest in a negative light, let us remember that rest is a healthy, Biblical principal that is essential for life.

Written by: Tamara Sturdivant

Edited by: De Ann Sturdivant