Rest for Your Weary HeartSample

Choosing to Rest Isn't Selfish

It’s okay to rest. It’s even more than okay—it’s essential. It can feel as if there is so much to do, and a moment of quiet can feel like a dessert stolen and eaten in secret before anyone sees. There’s so much depending on you. How can rest be anything but selfish?

Yet rest is exactly what enables you to love well for a lifetime. I struggled with this for years until a friend gently laid her hand on my heart and whispered, “If you never get refilled, how will you be able to pour out?”

You are not infinite. You are human. You have limits. Acknowledging that is not selfish; it’s worship. Rest says to God and to the rest of the world, “I know I’m not in charge. And I trust the One who is.”

Rest comes in many different forms. It can be quick snooze on the couch or a full night of sleep. It can be reading, laughing, or playing. It can be an attitude of your heart that chooses not to strive and worry even when you’re in the middle of a busy season. In all of that, you can honor God.

God doesn’t need you to complete your to-do list. He created the world in seven days simply by speaking. He doesn’t have any trouble getting things accomplished. But what he has chosen for you to do is this: to love him, those around you, and yourself. Part of loving well is resting well.

We can find ourselves going at a frantic pace and never stop to ask, “What is driving me?” Often it’s fear, and that is not what God has for us. Instead of being driven by fear, our good Shepherd invites us to be led by love.

So pause, take a deep breath (or even a nap if you dare) and in doing so show the world that you serve One who is kind and loving to those who belong to him. Because he lets them rest. He invites them to peace. He takes their to-do list and trades it for a to-be list that leads to joy.

You have permission to rest today.