Soul Care: 7 Days of Life-Giving PracticesSample

Day 5: Rest

Our lives today seem to be dictated by the rhythms and messages of culture: Do more, grind more, hustle more—and sleep less. But this is not the way of Jesus. We see this demonstrated in Mark 4:35-41, when He finds rest in an unexpected place after a long day of ministry:

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Reading this passage, three important concepts stand out that I believe would do us well to remember:

1. Jesus understood and honored the limitations of His body. He knew that having needs did not make Him weak, or flawed, or sinful, or lacking in faith—it made Him human. And not only did He understand the limitations of His earthly body, but He also honored those limitations by resting. If Jesus Himself had to choose to sleep, how much more do we?

2. Jesus gave Himself permission to rest. He was in tune with Himself and His needs. Though He knew He had limited time to minister on this earth, He still saw the importance of taking the time to rest. He stopped and paced Himself (John 4:6), took naps (Mark 4:38), and “reclined at the table” (Luke 7:36) when He needed to slow down and recharge.

3. Resting was an act of faith and trust. It’s one thing to nap; it’s another to nap in the middle of a storm. Scripture gives us invitation after invitation to give God our burdens and rest: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). I wonder if Jesus was able to rest (both physically and emotionally) undisturbed by the chaos around Him because of the peace that resided in Him and the faith He had in the God who went before Him. As Psalm 4:8 so beautifully says, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

In our productivity-driven world, we make idols out of efficiency and “doing more” when the God who has already done it all beckons us to rest. But in choosing to sleep, we remind ourselves that He is God and we are not. We acknowledge that He will work, fight, and act on our behalf; even as we close our eyes to rest, the Lord will continue to fight the battles we cannot (Exodus 14:14). So we choose to still our minds and relax our bodies, taking good care of the lives with which God has entrusted us.