Blessed Rest

Today, my husband and children let me sleep...and it's Friday. For me, Friday is usually a crunch day. Sunday is Mother's Day, but for me, it's the biggest day of the week. As a pastor, I work 12+ hours on Sunday, so Mother's Day will have to be celebrated...today.

Today, I got up at 6:00 a.m., because I was getting one text message after another. A church member had been asking for prayer in a group text, and much to my delight, he had reported during the night that he had been healed. Praise God! I've been preaching on prayer for the last 6 weeks, and I know that God is moving. I see it. It's tangible, and I see a shift in the verbiage used when my people are talking about the circumstances in their lives and in the church. I'm so thankful, but I'm so tired.

As an introvert, I need time to decompress. This week was abnormally very busy with conferences, meetings, counseling sessions, an annual report that's due, and an unexpected sermon assignment thrown into the usual mix. And did I mention, that it's Friday, and I'm tired. When I delightfully (not being sarcastic here) at 6:00 a.m. to the sound of the group collectively praising God, I was excited to see yet again, the power of Christ in prayer. He is moving in the lives of my people. And I'm so glad.

But I'm tired. I went back to bed after my husband left for work at 8:00, and I slept until 10:30. It was awesome! I smiled when I woke.

My introverted tendencies crave for me to spend time decompressing. All of the activity this week hasn't made me physically tired, amazingly. I'm physically ready to run a few miles. But inwardly, I need to sleep. I need to decompress. I need to spend time with Jesus, not just praying for the needs of my church body, but to seek the face of the one that loves me most. He is my rest, my peace, my source of comfort. But I don't just turn to him for something. I gaze upon the face of my Savior because HE is my rest.

The fact that the Holy Spirit lives in me gives me the strength and the desire to carry on. But turning my eyes upon Him in prayer gives me life. He is my life.

Sleep is blessed. But his presence is rest.

The Sabbath Rest

Genesis 2:2-3 “On the seventh day, having finished his task, God rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from his work of creation.” NLT

I just didn’t see how this was going to work. I had learned during my first few days of my new lifestyle that weight loss really boiled down to calories in/calories out. And I realized that the more calories I burned through activity, the greater my calorie deficit would be; therefore, that would equate to more weight loss. But I was stuck this day because there was an internal struggle occurring once again. I knew that today was my Sabbath, a day my family worshipped together and rested from our work. But I was having a major dilema as well, trying to figure out if that meant exercise too. I mean, honestly, I had extra time on Sundays to work out, and I could really put some effort into it today! In addition, I reasoned that since I’d be spending time sitting in a pew and not up cleaning my house, there would be more calories that I wouldn’t be burning that day. It was decided then, that when I returned from church, I would work out. God understood after all. He wants me to care for my body!

I went 21 days straight working out, lifting weights, and having a calorie deficit of 1000/day until I realized that something wasn’t right. I was tired and sore, and I felt like I had an injury in my knee. But I kept pushing. Finally I resorted to the internet to search out my problem. I thought I was doing well, but obviously I had gone wrong somewhere. I kept reading over and over from multiple reputable websites where I needed to rest one day a week from working out in order to give my body time to recover and get ready for another week of physical activity. My muscles needed to repair, and I needed to be rejuvenated in my mind to face the mental battle I would have that week when I felt like giving up. Still not convinced that it was worth it, hesitantly I gave in to rest from workouts one day a week. To my amazement, that one day was I needed to restore me to my best.

God Himself rested. From the beginning of creation, He instituted a day of rest. This seven-day framework structured Israel’s week, with the last day set aside as holy. It was to be different than the rest of the week. The first six days they were to work and live unto Him, but on the seventh day, they were to cease from their labors and worship Him. 

In today’s society, we want to be seen as productive and responsible members of society. The demands on modern life keep us busy and stressed out, and we need every minute possible to accomplish as much as possible. But God didn’t design us in this way. He created us for work, but He also created us for rest. He even gave us time to rest! I find it amazing that a calendar week correlates perfectly with the way our bodies were designed.

I myself have chosen Sunday as my rest day. It’s a day of ministry for my family, which actually keeps us too busy to do much else anyway. Our day to rest from our jobs and other work comes another day during the week. Whatever day works out best to cease workouts is fine, but ensure that you’re taking that time to restore and rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul. You were designed for it!

Take some time and read the creation story as revealed in Genesis chapters 1-2. Soak in the refreshing knowledge that God has handcrafted us in His image. 

Encouragement for Today

Exodus 23:11 “but let the land rest and lie fallow during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest any volunteer crop that may come up. Leave the rest for the animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves.” NLT

Psalm 127:2 “It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.” NLT