Rest

Rest. I know, I've banged on about this one before but I actually feel quite strongly about it. (You must be surprised by that because it is, of course, rare that I feel strongly about anything...).

We were designed to rest. We were made to have a day off each week. Not a day off each year or even each month. Not just an evening off, but a whole day.

In our busy culture today, rest is frowned upon. If you take a day off, you will get behind on your work. You might not get the promotion or the sale. You might not have a clean house for your visitors the next day. Rest is equated with laziness. I find myself slipping into this so easily. The "I just need to...." feeling.

This is a lie of our society. Not only is rest vital to our sense of well-being and stress levels, if we don't take the day to rest then we are actually telling God that we don't think much of His design. "Sorry God, I know you wanted me to rest, but actually I don't need to do it your way. My way is much better." The sweet smelling whiff of pride surrounds this sentiment. But as we know, pride comes before a fall and it won't be long before our exhausted bodies and minds can't take any more.

I know it's hard to rest with children in the family, and I know that some jobs are more demanding than others but God made the whole world and rested, so I'm guessing that somehow we can find ways to do it too. We also need to model it to our children because otherwise our work-a-holic generation is going to pass down a slimy, sneaking lie that will destroy our kids.

Of course, rest will look different for each of us. My idea of resting is to spend time having fun with my boys without thinking about work, writing, cleaning, cooking or even, dare I say it, church things.

So, come on. Don't believe the lie that we have to just keep going and going. We don't and we can't. Get some rest today and refresh yourselves for the week ahead.