At the end of a long day that caps off a long week, it’s easy to feel that I need rest.
But come morning, once I’m fully awake, caffeinated, showered, and refreshed, I’ll feel the familiar urge to accomplish.
Rest is difficult for me. Oh I’m prone to lolly-gag on the computer or get lost in a book on any given afternoon when perhaps I “should” be doing something else.
But it’s the “should be” that trips me up every time, snatching rest from my needy soul and tired body.
Because there’s always something I “should be” doing, too often I choose the tasking over the resting. And even if I push the “should be” away, I’ll likely feel guilty…which is not exactly a place of rest either.
We are not generally a people of rest. We are multi-taskers. The pressure to do more, be more, and have more gets under our skin whether we realize it or not.
The Creator of the universe {who chose rest and modeled it for us} invites us to take a load off. Daily He calls us to hand over our burdens and to rest in His finished work on our behalf. Though Believers don’t all rest on the same day of the week and there are many different interpretations of what rest is and isn’t, we are called to rest. There’s no getting around it.
And because He knows us intimately, He also knows what we need better than anyone else. We may not feel we need it. We may look at the mountain of “should be” and choose to ignore the invitation. I do it all the time.
But there’s an irresistible whisper today, urging me to slow down and let go, reminding me that there’s a better way to accomplish more and it’s by doing less. When we rest, we receive. This God-way is not my way. But it is the intended way.
He invites you to rest. Will you accept the invitation?
{Day 16} Real Rest: An Invitation
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Bonita says
Oh, how I needed this today!!!
Yesterday my daughter and I went on an impromptu one day beach trip with friends and, much to my dismay, didn’t return home until the wee hours of the morning. This morning we are both so tired and stayed home from church.
So, I’m sitting here, barely functioning, vegging on the computer, and feeling so terribly guilty for doing so. Then I read your post. Thank you!
Anonymous says
Accomplishing real rest is taxing.
LYF,
MOM