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Do you need rest?


Do you know when you need rest? Sometimes as humans, we try to be like an energizer bunny in the sense that we have very long lists of things to be done, so we don't want to take the time to give our bodies rest. This is not how we were made. We were made to labor, of course, but we were also made to rest and to rest in the Lord. 

 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, or your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns." - Exodus 20: 8-10

This week, I've been laboring so much by fulfilling my commitments at work, with the kids, the house, etc. that I needed rest. I wasn't willing to accept the need for rest, but it was there. Let me tell you, when the need is there, you will find yourself at a point that you aren't going to be able to keep going much longer. 

For me, I typically have very long days that start with a 5 am alarm and end with a 12:30 or 1 am falling asleep. This week was no different until yesterday. I'd started the day like usual, only it was Ryan's day off, so my first alarm was 6:30. Even with that extra rest, I was finding myself running like crazy. Get the kids to the bus. Start work. Stop at noon, take a longer lunch because it was my hair appointment day. Rush through a drive through for some lunch because I was starving. Work another 3 hours. Dinner with the family. We get home and I go to play a few games on my phone before the next task... 

The next task never came. I was so tired, I was asleep before 9 pm. Now, if you haven't figured it out by now, this does not happen for me. EVER. Ryan said this morning, I just knocked out. I hadn't even put my phone on the charger. I slept so hard and for so long, I didn't wake up for 12 hours. 

Today, I feel amazing having had rest. This morning we've already gone grocery shopping, done lunch, and put away the groceries. Next on the list is making a wreath and bible study. So for me, the question becomes "why do we do this to ourselves?" Why do we run until we can't run any longer? Why do we not just rest? All it takes is following a few key words: 

  • dedicate time in the presence of God
  • devote our talents and treasures for His use and purpose
  • prioritize what the world mocks and minimizes
  • sacrifice our own selfish desires and ambitions
  • feel marginalized and excluded
  • break off unhealthy relationships
  • uphold our daily spiritual disciplines
  • dare to risk bold allegiance to His Word
  • resist lifestyles of legalistic, condemning perfectionism
  • receive a continuous stream of God's grace
  • refuse political correctness over righteousness
  • reach out to the weak and disenfranchised
  • believe God for more
  • pray bold prayers to prove it
All of these things enable us to not only rest in the Lord but to be witnesses to all the world of his love, mercy, and grace. 

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