Rest: Forgotten by Modernity yet Appointed by God
The "non productive" moments in life are not what they seem
Many of us feel uncomfortable when we rest instead of working, and we have good reason. After all, no one respects laziness and our society puts a high premium on “hustle”.
Yet, under the guise of diligence, we enslave ourselves to our own self-appointed goals. How many productivity gurus truly appear free of stress, anxiety and work on at least one day per week? Not many.
Instead we bulldoze through our God-appointed seasons of rest, muttering “there’s no rest for the wicked”, without realizing that we are literally confessing our allegiance to a world that shares no alignment with faith.
The burden of inadequacy, shame and guilt that so often motivates our productivity levels isn’t ours to carry.
Jesus promised, “My yoke is easy, my burden light.” The yoke was a wooden beam that linked two bulls or horses together to work as one. The burden is easy because it is shared; the stress only comes when we pull against Him instead of with Him.
He also said “I no longer call you servants, but friends.” In other words, slaving away and over-working, even for a righteous cause, no longer suits us.
The Old Covenant foreshadowed this new reality when the Lord commanded His people to rest every seventh day and seventh year. What was etched into ancient Mosaic law reveals a greater spiritual reality accessible to us today.
And that new reality is this: we master rest not only to affirm our empowered identity in Christ as sons and daughters, but also to express faith and surrender to the One who also works on our behalf.
Believers who refuse to accept this truth may continue to sweat and muscle their way through life, but they may eventually be disciplined by the Lord to learn the ways of a son and a daughter.
In this way, “forced” seasons of rest often act like a refining fire. Biblically, this can be compared to the “wilderness seasons” of many heroes of the faith, who had to endure years of limbo and obscurity.
The apostle Paul, fresh from an encounter with God Himself and a commission to bring the gospel to the world, entered into the desert for three years as the Lord led him.
David, whom God anointed as king of Israel and whom the nation already recognized as their next leader, refused self-promotion and allowed God to lead him into the anonymity of the wilderness for a whole decade.
The prophet Elijah captivated the heart of a nation in one day of extraordinary public miracles, and the next day was sent by God into the wilderness to fast for forty days.
Perhaps that’s why Jesus voluntarily disconnected from the crowds and went into the wilderness to pray. If we do not pursue godly rest like he did, it will surely pursue us.
In fact, God often engineers times of rest and disconnection from work to bring greater alignment and revelation about our purpose and assignment.
The apostle Peter literally lay in his bed sleeping while others prepared him dinner when the Lord showed him a vision that unlocked the gospel for the entire world. Those of us who are non-Jews but disciples of Jesus can be thankful Peter took that nap.
The prophet Daniel, a high-ranking government leader in the Babylonian Empire, fell into a deep sleep and received a word from the Lord that continues to reverberate thousands of years later. Whatever other “king’s business” he was on at the time, pales in comparison to that.
And the apostle John, exiled to a remote island far from any geo-political relevance, received insight into Heaven and the future of the world.
The point is, the most “non-productive” moments in life are not what they seem on the surface, at least for the believer. The Lord blesses the seasons of rest He has designed for us and will use them for our good. Will we honor the rest He has appointed for us?
If you find yourself stuck in a cycle of never-ending productivity tasks that are running you into the ground, I believe freedom awaits you.
Allow rest to cost you something. Offer it as a sacrifice.
Resting does not have to mean complacency, and I will write about this next. Perhaps you will receive inspiration, or a greater sense of direction and creativity. Or maybe you will simply receive restoration in your physical body and soul. You can trust that the Lord’s design is good and that He will work it to your benefit.