“God’s work is never done! So, I can’t take an entire day off because I am doing God’s work!” I heard that line from pastors when I was in ministry my entire career. I almost always heard it when I declined to do something because it was on my day off. One pastor was regarded as the greatest because he never took a complete day off. That line of thinking is unbiblical. God rested. Jesus went off by himself to pray. We are not greater than God. We must take time to rest.
I am taking time today to rest. I am exhausted. even though I went to an amazing conference with my church this weekend, I’m still tired. I started tired. Part of my tiredness is my fault. I don’t always go to bed early. I’m trying to change that with my small Sabbath this weekend and extra day. I know better. I know that with rest I am a better person. Rest affects every area of our health, emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual. We must do what Jesus did when he was on earth and take time to rest.
When we are tired, our emotional health is low. Many people become angry. Anger is not a sin. What we do when we are angry can become sinful. When we are tired, many times our anger leads to sinful actions. Our words may be unpleasant to others. Our attitudes may be horrible. Other people do not need to tolerate our emotions. As Christians, we owe it to the world to give others our best selves. We can only do that when we are well rested.
Our mental health suffers when we don’t rest. I recognized that I could not think of simple terms or names when I was completely exhausted. I made silly mistakes with electronics or in my life. Those mistakes can be costly, especially with areas of driving. The Bible tells us to control our minds and to not conform to the patterns of this world. When we are tired, we conform because we cannot think clearly. Rest will give us clear thinking.
Our physical health suffers when we are tired. I noticed I eat unhealthier when I am tired because I crave unhealthy foods. During the pandemic, many people gained weight. They were eating unhealthily because they were emotionally and physically tired. We can get hurt if we exhort too much exercise when we are tired. It happens to young athletes. Rest helps our bodies become healthy.
Our spiritual health suffers when we are tired. We don’t want to worship God. We begin to question if God exists because life is so bad for us at this time. if we just take time to rest, we will have clarity of the life situations that surround us. When Elijah was ready to die, it was because he was exhausted. God gave him food and put him to sleep. He rested. He was ready to go. Rest helps our faith in God.
So, how do we rest? First, we stop with the excuses. If you believe you do not have time to rest, find mentors that will help you find the time. These mentors can be in the same professions as you. They can be authors or coworkers, or those on podcasts. Although many teachers are tired, I have always found those teachers that are not tired and have a lot of energy. I realize that if I want to be that teacher, I must rest.
Stop with the excuses of not setting a bedtime. Science has proven that teenagers need more rest. Science has proven that the rest comes going to bed earlier, not sleeping in later. So, what did the state of California do? They started high school later. It’s not beneficial. My students are still tired as many of them have to come to school early as their parents still go to work early. I realized that I’m just like my students. I want to stay up late. I must get into the routine of going to bed earlier to have more rest at night.
Next, we must find what the source of our problems are with sleep. If you struggle to sleep, you must go to the doctor and find ways with your doctor of what the issue is. The last time I took my sister to the doctor for a small procedure, I sat right outside the sleep therapy area. In that area, they were testing people for their sleep patterns. We must lower our pride and get help.
Finally, we must see rest as a spiritual act. If we have better attitudes and are mentally stronger with more rest, we will see the necessity of rest. God’s work can be done by someone else. Many times, God wants someone else to do the job. God needs us, and he needs us to be healthy. We do no one any good when we are unhealthy.
Take time to take some rest. Give yourself permission. Take time away from work to just rest. It is not a day to run errands, but a day that you stop and rest. Find yourself doing better with rest. People around you will notice the different you when you are well rested. The world needs us; they don’t need mean tweets, but well rested Christians to represent the love of Jesus.
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