Permission to Rest
This earthly world glorifies the art of being busy. The more you cram into every day of your life, the better. We are praised for doing things faster, more efficiently. Women often exhaust themselves trying to “do it all”. But, humans were never designed to operate like this. God did not design us to walk through life constantly anxious, busy, and stressed for time. So, He created a key element that revives us: rest. Biblical rest.
The first instance of rest in the Bible involves God himself in Genesis Chapter 2:1 &2 ESV “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.”. So, there it is: your permission to rest. If God rested, you can, too!
Often times, our endless mental to-do lists prevent us from properly resting. Have you ever found yourself trying to relax and thought, “Okay, what do I do now?” Our brains are so programmed to jump from one activity to the next that we have forgotten how to rest. One of the key components to this Biblical form of rest is our proximity to God. True rest can only be accomplished through Him. There are verses directing us where and how to rest throughout scripture, most notably in the Psalms. Psalm 4:8 ESV declares, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Here, God grants us the ability to “dwell” in Him. Psalm 34:8 ESV says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” We are called to take refuge IN Him. We all have those go-to “rest” places. Because of our relationship with God, we can peacefully rest with His protection. Maybe it’s the beach…maybe it’s your bed. Wherever you mentally or physically go to rest, you need to intentionally commune with God in those spaces. Maybe this looks like listening to worship music on the drive. Maybe you are reading scripture in bed. Maybe you’re mediating and praying on the beach. Intentionally bring God into your rest wherever you go.
One last thing to ponder…although sleep and “turning off” your brain are components of the rest humans need to survive, Jesus calls us to also rest with Him. In Matthew Chapter 11:28 ESV, Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He is specifically directing us to turn to Him for rest from our worldly burdens, but a closer study of the wording reveals a lot more about this experience. Although Jesus spoke Aramaic, the Gospel of Matthew was recorded in Greek. The Greek word that is used for “will give you rest” is “anapausō” and it emphasizes Jesus’s role in this process. It is us who must turn to Him and He who grants the rest in turn. More importantly, variations of the same root word are used throughout the New Testament in reference to the “refreshment” that He provides us during this rest. He not only takes away our stress and fatigue, but also refills our proverbial tank with the focus and energy we need. Whatever we lost during our work is replenished through our time with Him.
Ultimately, if we want to be the best women, moms, wives, friends, sisters…the best version of ourselves…we must make room for rest in our lives. It is physically impossible to survive without resting under His wings. God designed us this way.
Catherine (Cat) Garner was born in Long Beach, California and moved to Nevada when she was 10. She grew up in the Las Vegas community, then earned her BA in English and Political Science from the University of Nevada, Reno and her teaching credential from UNLV. She is a National Board Certified Teacher who has taught, coached, mentored, #allthethings in public schools for over a decade. She also walks in a variety of school-related roles outside the classroom such as writing curriculum and teaching professional development classes. Her husband, Ryan, is a CPA and they have one son, Jack, and a fur-daughter, Emma. She loves worship music, shoes, a good book, Precepts Bible studies, soccer, making silly TikToks, Sally Clarkson, house plants, and yoga.