Take the Time to REST

1 Samuel 1:1-3:21
I have a confession to make, this past Sunday we actually played hookey from church. Well, OK, that’s not *entirely* accurate, we did attend church – OUR church even… in our pajamas on our couch via the internet and simulcast. There are some definite perks to attending a very large church. Northview Church just launched a new “iCampus” and so far it seems to be going quite successfully. And really, that morning service in our livingroom set the tone for that whole cold rainy day. There we sat and there we stayed all day watching movies, and it was glorious!
The next day when I went to work and told one of my co-workers about it she asked, “What’s that like? I never get a day off!” And for any of you that know me very well, or have followed this blog for very long, you know how I feel about that! So you won’t be surprised when I tell you that I then replied to her,
“You should just take the time to relax every once in a while.”
“Well, I have goals and things to do.” she replied.
I said, “So do I. But sometimes those things should wait.” (If only she knew what my goals were! HA! God has certainly taught me to dream BIG!)
She said more, letting me know that I was wasting my breath in trying to convince her that rest is important (not to mention quality time with your family) and so I stopped bothering. Someday the Holy Spirit will teach her the wisdom of rest, until then I will continue to celebrate my Sabbath in my way and she can celebrate it hers. (Did I mention that she suffers from migraines almost monthly, where she is forced to stop her business and goal chasing in order to rest?)
You see my friends, God has His ways. HE knows what’s best for us and what we need, so much better than we do. He knew from the very beginning that we would get so caught up in our goals and our plans that we would forget to take care of ourselves.
Sometimes the best way to take care of others is to take care of yourself! If I’m so worn out that I get sick to the point that I literally can’t move from the bed then how is that helping anyone? Instead of pushing myself to the absolute limit, I plan a time to intentionally stop and smell the roses.
Take the time to rest and allow your body the time to recover and recuperate, and perhaps enjoy some family fun time at the same time. We all have goals, we all have things that we want and are working toward them. However, if your body is forcing you to rest I guarantee you it will cost you more time and be less enjoyable than if you were to PLAN resting time in advance. Trust me, this is the voice of experience talking here. I even wrote a book about it!

We all need some quiet time. We all need some “me” time. And as long as you’re not staying in that “me” zone all the time, your goals will still be there waiting for you on the other side of that PJ day. I promise. Only this time, you’ll have more mental and physical and spiritual energy to achieve those goals. Who knows, by taking some time away from them you may even end up achieving them faster than you would have without the respite.
Pray about it today, is God calling you to come away with Him and have some quiet time? Is He calling you to both lie down and sleep because He alone makes you dwell in safety? Did you know that the Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still? My friend, be still and KNOW that He is God. Give Him your goals, your fears, your troubles and let Him work on them for a while so that you can take a much-needed break.