This list of Greatest Hits plays on a loop in my head:
“I’m busy, so I must be important.”
“I must stay busy to remain important.”
“It’s better to burn out than rust out. Right?”
“If I’m not busy, who am I?”
Yet…
“God never asked us to meet life’s pressures and demands on our own terms or by relying upon our own strength. Nor did He demands that we win His favor by assembling an impressive portfolio of good deeds.
Instead, He invites us to enter His rest.” Charles R. Swindoll
In place of our exhaustion and spiritual fatigue, He will give us rest.
All He asks is that we come to Him . . . that we spend a while thinking about Him,
meditating on Him, talking to Him, listening in silence, occupying ourselves with Him —
totally and thoroughly lost in the hiding place of His presence.
Charles R. Swindoll
God established rest for His people:
You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work—neither you, your children, your slaves, your animals, nor the foreigners who live in your country. In six days I, the Lord, made the earth, the sky, the seas, and everything in them, but on the seventh day I rested. That is why I, the Lord, blessed the Sabbath and made it holy. Exodus 20:9-11 Good News Translation
Jesus confirmed it: But many people were coming and going. So they did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said to his apostles, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place. You need to get some rest.” Mark 6:31 New International Reader’s Version
“Rest provides fine-tuning for hearing God’s messages amidst the static of life.”
Shelly Miller, Rhythms of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7a King James Version
Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength… It is wisdom to take occasional furlough.
In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less.
Charles Spurgeon
Respect your body when it’s asking for a break.
Respect your mind when it’s seeking rest.
Honor yourself when you heed a moment for yourself.
