Unlocking Rest

How to Prioritize Sleep, Rethink Wellness, and Stay in Good Spirits

The next key we draw from our toolbox will unlock our ability to rest, to break from the busyness of life, the excessive expectations, and the exhaustion we feel when we push ourselves relentlessly. We cannot possibly tap into our secret well of kindness when we drive ourselves like bulls. Being kind first to ourselves and then to others will come from not a place of tension but always a place of rest.

A symbol found in music and the Psalms is Selah, which means “pause, a break, a stop, a rest.”

When was the last time you woke up totally refreshed? For too many of us, the stress of life, combined with our lack of self-care, zaps our ability to do our best, be our best, and enjoy our daily lives.

In our driven culture, we emphasize “doing” often to the extreme, creating uncontrolled stress, elevated frustration, irritation, and anger, which leads to mental and physical exhaustion. All the striving, the long work hours, and the lack of rest take a toll on our mental and physical health.

Consider for a moment the fact that

• 1 million Americans have a heart attack each year.

• 13 billion doses of tranquilizers, barbiturates, and amphetamines are prescribed yearly.

• 8 million Americans have stomach ulcers.

• An estimated 50,000 stress-related suicides take place each year.

• We have 12 million alcoholics in our country.

Vance Havner, author, and old-time preacher and revivalist, once said, “Unless we come apart and rest a while, we may just plain come apart.”

Rest Needs to Be a Priority

“If you do not rest, it negatively impacts your performance and, consequently, your business. You’re more focused, you’re more creative, and you’re more productive when you’re well-rested.” —Michael Hyatt, Free to Focus

The key to mental, physical, and spiritual health is rest. Rest can be defined as “peace, ease, or refreshment” and can be applied by getting enough sleep, having sufficient time off or away from your work, taking time to enjoy things in life, and having “down time” or “alone time” to relax your mind and body.

Though there are prominent cultures in the world that esteem and make time for daily rest, there are other societies, including that of the United States, that esteem an over-the-top hard work ethic (meaning, workaholic status) as a means of success.

But this mentality, which negates the need for rest, has resulted in broken relationships, burn out, ill health, and escalated mental illness. There have been strides in the United States toward embracing a lifestyle of balance.

Wellness has become a prominent industry, and the 2020 pandemic ushered in remote working. People are starting to realize that having an excellent work ethic includes the need for rest.

What about you—are you prioritizing the need for “rest” in your life? Do you still need convincing of this fact?

If God Prioritizes Rest, So Should You

The Bible has a lot to say about the need for rest. Right from the beginning, we see that God established a day of rest after He had fulfilled His work of creation. “So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” - Genesis 2:3 (ESV)

I love the fact that God is the originator of “rest.”

Chew on that for a while. If God ordained it and rested Himself, that should banish any feeling of shame or weakness that some dole out when people strive for a work-life balance.

Throughout Scripture, rest and wellness are prescriptions, not only for the people of Israel through the Sabbath day but for the Gentiles as well. When Jesus walked the earth and held His public ministry, He placed great importance on rest. He often departed away from the crowds in solitude to pray and get needful sleep.

In the Old and New Testaments, we see many examples of God telling his prophets to rest and to eat to have strength. And when Jesus healed people, He would direct others to get them something to eat, so they regained their strength.

Is it any wonder that the author of “rest” said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” - Matthew 11:28-29 (ESV)

My prayer for you today is for you to feel the freedom to selfishly ask for and get the rest you need. I have found over the year that when we are tired and sleep-deprived, we are grumpy and short with others - the opposite of kind. In our quest to be more kind people, proper rest is an essential tool in your tool belt.

Reflect on this today.