Rest and Refresh Series Part 1
So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. This is the account of creation. -Genesis 2:1-4 NLT
The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.” -Exodus 31:16, 17 NLT
The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.” -Exodus 31:16, 17 NLT
Feeling heavy hearted and profoundly overwhelmed, I pushed past the tears to petition God, “Lord what's the deal!? Why am I so overwhelmed?” Without truly realizing it before, He'd been developing this concept of rest in my heart for years… He gently reminded me that I’d been here before, as a first-time mom, new to staying at home. And Then He dropped a truth bomb in my spirit: if you'd rest weekly like I’ve commanded, you'd have the wherewithal to do all I called you to during the week. BAM. My heart sank. I knew exactly what he was talking about.
Beyond my daily time in the Word, I was never really pouring anything back in; I was always just pouring out. So instead of a wellspring of life, I felt more like a punctured gas tank in a parched dessert, spewing fuel. Life wasn’t much fun running on fumes for me or those around me. I was in desperate need of gas… and some repairs... As I looked over my schedule to locate the activities of rest and refreshment (because surely there were some!) there was nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. And I realized, everything I thought poured in, was really pulling out of me.
Beyond my daily time in the Word, I was never really pouring anything back in; I was always just pouring out. So instead of a wellspring of life, I felt more like a punctured gas tank in a parched dessert, spewing fuel. Life wasn’t much fun running on fumes for me or those around me. I was in desperate need of gas… and some repairs... As I looked over my schedule to locate the activities of rest and refreshment (because surely there were some!) there was nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. And I realized, everything I thought poured in, was really pulling out of me.
This led me to the heart-breaking depiction of God’s chosen people in Exodus under the harsh hand of the new king:
So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.” Exodus 1:11-14
A disturbing revelation emerged as keywords jumped out at me (in bold above, emphasis my own): Wow. This is what life looks and feels like without rest, without boundaries or balance. And this is exactly how I felt, like a workhorse. Where God was some taskmaster, expecting all work and no play and no rest, which couldn't be further from the truth!
So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.” Exodus 1:11-14
A disturbing revelation emerged as keywords jumped out at me (in bold above, emphasis my own): Wow. This is what life looks and feels like without rest, without boundaries or balance. And this is exactly how I felt, like a workhorse. Where God was some taskmaster, expecting all work and no play and no rest, which couldn't be further from the truth!
Can you relate? Do you lack the wherewithal to do what God’s called you to, the way he’s called you to it, during the week?
My brothers and sisters, these are actually signs of burnout! Collaboratively, these indicators are a “check engine” light; your body’s way of screaming that it needs immediate attention. And if you’ve said yes to several, or maybe even all of them, you’re not alone.
There’s an epidemic in the body of Christ. We feel overworked. Overloaded. And overwhelmed. Struggling to keep up. Hurdling towards burn-out, that is if you’re not already there or been there before! Burnout is huge among helping professionals, including those in ministry!
- Do you feel exhausted all the time?
- Do you feel like a slave to your schedule? Worn down by work? Crushed by tasks? Oppressed despite your success?
- Have work and/or life begun to feel ruthless and demanding?
- Do you feel apathetic about things you once enjoyed? Find yourself putting off things you used to love doing?
- Do you constantly feel overwhelmed, even by little things?
- Do you dread going to work? Maybe even church?
- Do you secretly wish for some catastrophe to occur or look for any excuse to free you from your responsibilities?
- Do you have a sense that something just isn’t right?
My brothers and sisters, these are actually signs of burnout! Collaboratively, these indicators are a “check engine” light; your body’s way of screaming that it needs immediate attention. And if you’ve said yes to several, or maybe even all of them, you’re not alone.
There’s an epidemic in the body of Christ. We feel overworked. Overloaded. And overwhelmed. Struggling to keep up. Hurdling towards burn-out, that is if you’re not already there or been there before! Burnout is huge among helping professionals, including those in ministry!
Saints, is that a picture of the abundant life? Is that what Jesus envisioned when he proclaimed John 10:10? Burnout for Jesus?
You aren’t a workhorse! And God is no taskmaster! He reminded his people about the Sabbath continually, saying to remember to set it apart, to dedicate it to Him, to stop working, because once they were slaves. Slaves don’t get rest. They certainly don’t have balance. They don’t even have a choice; it’s all work, all the time.
Sadly, even when the Israelites were free they struggled to actually stop working and trust God enough to rest!
You aren’t a workhorse! And God is no taskmaster! He reminded his people about the Sabbath continually, saying to remember to set it apart, to dedicate it to Him, to stop working, because once they were slaves. Slaves don’t get rest. They certainly don’t have balance. They don’t even have a choice; it’s all work, all the time.
Sadly, even when the Israelites were free they struggled to actually stop working and trust God enough to rest!
You have a choice. You can choose to recalibrate. Intentionally move some things around and eliminate others in order to build in rest. Or eventually, you’ll be forced to. Your body and your mind will rundown. Your quality of life will continually decrease. Your health will progressively decline because none of it was meant to sustain a workhorse pace. Eventually, you’ll have to start saying “no” to the very things, the very life, God wants you to say “yes” to.
And don’t fall for the lie. You’re not exempt. Even if you’re doing what God’s called you to. If you’re always only pouring out and never intentionally taking a focused break and habitually stopping to refuel, you’re going to run out of gas! It’s a biblical principle, which even Jesus himself modeled while here on earth. And if anyone should have been exempt, it would have been him!
God wants us to fruitfully walk out our current season and enter our next season ready for our next thing. But if we are exhausted and overwhelmed in our current capacity, we’ll only enter our next the same but with greater responsibility, bigger consequences and increased cost.
Father God loves us. And knowing how He created us, instituted and even modeled rest for us. And He not only gives permission to rest but He promotes it over and over in scripture! He wants to do big things in and through you, but He may have to bench you first if you burn yourself out!
TAKEAWAY
Protected by divine command, God made rest available. But, as the Israelites, we seem to be prone to reject it. Not taking a focused, weekly rest works against us, creating resistance to even have the wherewithal for the everyday. It detracts from the life God called us to, deflates our effectiveness in our roles and in the lives of others, and demeans our ability to do things His way! It squashes potential. And mars vision.
“Workhorse Saints produce watered down impact.”
Confronting our lack of rest is not optional; it’s a must for everyday functionality and a necessity for optimal performance of saints. The Kingdom is riding on it!
NEXT LEVEL
Prayerfully consider the following:
STEP-UP CHALLENGE
Look at your schedule for the remainder of the month. Consider the things you have down.
Prayerfully consider the following:
- How is your mental and physical wherewithal overall on a scale from 1 -10, with one being a terrible representation for the life God wants me to live and ten being a great representation of the life God wants me to live? What is God revealing to you here?
- How has not resting been benefitting you? What is it costing you? What do you sense the Lord revealing about your real drive behind not resting?
- How is your everyday wherewithal impacting your quality of life when you’re exhausted all the time? Is this in alignment with how God has called you to walk?
- What kind of employee, friend, spouse, neighbor, etc. are you when you’re well rested verses when you’re exhausted or overwhelmed?
- What sort of legacy is this leaving (even passing on!) for those around you?
- What does real rest even look like for you? How do you feel when you’re mentally and physically rested up? What mindset shift do you come back with after resting? What’s your motivation like as you start your week? How’s your energy level?
STEP-UP CHALLENGE
Look at your schedule for the remainder of the month. Consider the things you have down.
- Where are your times and activities of rest and refreshment? Prayerfully ponder if these times and activities truly refresh you. If not, what would?
- If there are none or the time is not sufficient for this season, what can you move around or eliminate to make room for weekly rest starting this week? How could you build this rest in for the remainder of the year?
STILL THIRSTY?
Over the past few years, it’s evident that God has been speaking to his people in the area of rest. This seems to have amped up during the pandemic! Here are a few fantastic resources!
Love Note:
Oh brother and sister, hear my heart. I mean no offense to anyone nor do I take lightly the horrific nature of slavery or our history of it, the wounds of which I know still haunt. This is what God has put on heart to share with his people who are struggling as if they were under the oppression of slavery. He wants them free, fully functioning, and fully alive!
As a Christian God’s placed within me a deep love for His principles of peace, unity, freedom and diversity. I loathe oppression and injustice. Bigger than that, God loathes it. Especially when people use his name to perpetrate ungodly, uncharacteristic acts, truly spawned by selfish ambition and pride. God cares about oppression in all aspects of our lives! He is our great liberator on all fronts!
Over the past few years, it’s evident that God has been speaking to his people in the area of rest. This seems to have amped up during the pandemic! Here are a few fantastic resources!
- Robert Morris, Gateway Church: Take the Day Off https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2fSDgzz6ZU and updated: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZi1Ikf6dXc (You can thank me later 😉)
- Mike Todd, Take a Day Off: Sunday Funday https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNi5vK3pTzs
- “Burnout is Coming. Here’s How to Prevent It.” https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-prevent-burnout/
- Stay at Home Moms face unique challenges: Avoiding Toddler Care Burnout: https://www.focusonthefamily.com/family-qa/avoiding-toddler-care-burnout/
- Get some support mama! Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) 1-800-691-8061
- The Way Out of Burnout https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-way-out-of-burnout
Love Note:
Oh brother and sister, hear my heart. I mean no offense to anyone nor do I take lightly the horrific nature of slavery or our history of it, the wounds of which I know still haunt. This is what God has put on heart to share with his people who are struggling as if they were under the oppression of slavery. He wants them free, fully functioning, and fully alive!
As a Christian God’s placed within me a deep love for His principles of peace, unity, freedom and diversity. I loathe oppression and injustice. Bigger than that, God loathes it. Especially when people use his name to perpetrate ungodly, uncharacteristic acts, truly spawned by selfish ambition and pride. God cares about oppression in all aspects of our lives! He is our great liberator on all fronts!