Not so long ago, I woke up late on a Sabbath morning, relishing the opportunity to lounge in my bed, no alarm clock buzzing in my ear. Enjoying a weekly Sabbath is a regular rhythm of rest that has marked my life for almost 40 years! Honestly, I don’t know how I could get through life without this weekly practice. I woke that Sabbath morning with great thankfulness for the absolute luxury of it, and this scripture came to mind: “The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone” (Luke 20:17).
These words are first found in Psalm 118 and speak prophetically of our Lord Jesus. Jesus repeated them, and they are recorded in all four of the gospel accounts. He was speaking about Himself – the rejection He would face from the teachers of the law and the chief priests – although it would turn out He was the most important person of all, the very Son of God.
Rest: A Gift We Too Often Reject
This is a common theme that runs through the Christian faith. The things of God’s Kingdom often run contrary to the ways of the world and may be considered unnecessary, outdated, or even worthless, when in truth, they are the most important. This is the truth about rest. I am reminded of God’s words in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Most people would agree that our world moves at an incredibly fast pace. And the commonly held wisdom is that more work creates more results. Really, who has time to take a day off?! We feel that we can’t get ahead unless we keep our foot on the gas and use every minute of every day.
I’ve heard people say, “Rest is for retirement. I’ll rest then!” Or even, if they are trying to be spiritual, “I’ll rest when I get to heaven, but the days are short, and what I am doing is too important to take a break now!” We can be impressed by the dedication those words relay, but it’s possible we are throwing away an important foundation stone, one that is needed to build our lives as God intended.
Created for Rest: God's Design for Our Lives
The truth is that God created us to need rest, yet even I find this hard to accept at times. As much as I love my Sabbaths, sometimes I am tempted to skip one because there is simply too much to do. I convince myself that I can’t possibly take a day off. (I will say, however, that when I press through and actually honor my Sabbath commitment, those have been the most restful days – probably because I needed them the most.) I’ve also been guilty of burning the midnight oil far too many times, denying my body the sleep I need to be a fully functioning human being.
Yet God designed our bodies with the need for daily physical rest. In His Word, He also calls us to a weekly rest to renew our minds, emotions, and spirits. If our Creator made us with these built-in requirements, rest must matter. Rather than treating it as something we can do without, we should value it as part of His loving care for us.
The Surprising Benefits of Rest
Studies have proven the importance of rest, recreation, and refreshment and their impact upon productivity, which should cause us to reconsider the idea that more work means more results. A review of sleep and cognition research describes how sleep helps stabilize memories, improve certain learned skills, and make connections between pieces of information. In other words, time spent asleep continues learning that began while we were awake. A University of Illinois study found that participants who took brief diversions during a prolonged task maintained their performance better than those who worked continuously. Other researchers discovered that during brief breaks, the brain repeatedly replays newly learned skills, strengthening subsequent performance. Rather than interrupting performance, rest helps our brains work better.
The results of these studies should not be surprising. They only confirm the way that God has made us. But what does this mean for you? Do you partner with your God-created design and enjoy regular rhythms of rest or do you find yourself fighting this need, trying to work your way through every second of every day? How can you find the time – even prioritize the time – for rest in your daily and weekly schedule?
I understand that rest can seem counterproductive. Its benefits even appear counterintuitive. If we want to accomplish more, we need to do more, right? Yet, God’s ways are not our ways. His Kingdom follows different patterns. Patterns that work for our best and that yield His blessings. Yielding to His wisdom and receiving rest as a gift, not an obstacle, is an invitation to live with faith and to trust God for the outcome.
King Solomon famously wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Of course there is a time for work, but counteracting that is also a time for rest. I hope that you will make time to receive this gift.
A Prayer:
Father God, as my Creator, I confess that You know me best. Your ways are the best ways. You created me to need rest, and You offer me rest because You love me. Help me to find my rest in You. Teach me to enjoy when You make me lie down in green pastures and lead me beside quiet waters to restore my soul (Psalm 23:2). Show me how to make regular rest a foundational piece of my life.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Ariga, A., & Lleras A. (2011). Brief and rare mental “breaks”’ keep you focused: deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21211793/
Deak, M.C., & Stickgold, R. (2018). Sleep and cognition. PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5831725/
(2021). Study shows how taking short breaks may help our brains learn new skills. National Institutes of Health. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/study-shows-how-taking-short-breaks-may-help-our-brains-learn-new-skills
