Why Don't We Rest?

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*Reproduction of an article I wrote for Redeemer Church's weekly newsletter. (By the way, if you are anywhere near the Norman, OK area, you should definitely check out Redeemer.)

I love naps.
 
I’m not talking 10-minute snoozes in the recliner or half an hour cat naps on the couch. I’m talking full-on, Sunday afternoon, post-lunch, 3-hour, out-like-a-light, puddles-of-drool-on-your-pillow kind of naps.
 
However, as much as I love naps, I rarely allow myself the privilege. When I do nap, I usually wake up feeling guilty, even though my body and mind needed the rest.
 
Why? Because I’m a doer. I like productivity. I like to get things accomplished, and often I feel that I need to get things accomplished. I don’t like to waste time, and that’s what happens when you nap. There’s laundry to take out of the dryer. The floor needs to be mopped. There are bills waiting to be paid. And none of that happens while I’m konked out.
 
This is how many of us view resting or “Sabbathing”. We know it’s good for us, especially when we’ve been running on fumes. We need time to allow our body, mind, and soul to catch up and rejuvenate. Resting is even commanded in the Bible. However, we mistakenly allow ourselves to think that we cannot stop for a moment. Sometimes it’s because we simply don’t want to miss out on something fun. Maybe we don't even realize that we need a break. Other times, it’s because we delude ourselves into thinking that the world won’t keep spinning on its axis if we step away for a moment. And many times, as Christians, it’s because we feel the weight of our mission in this world. After all, faith without works is dead, right? We have a mission to complete! Who are we as followers of Christ to stop all our good works for our own personal gain in a moment of rest?
 
This kind of thinking leads to the assumption that God needs us to complete his work. Sure, He set it in motion, but if we stop working, this event won’t come together, that homeless person won’t get fed, the bills won’t get paid, that person won’t come to Christ. It seems the rewards of rest just aren’t worth the consequences. Right?
 
Wrong. Sabbathing isn’t a frivolous, self-indulgent hobby. It is a habit that intentionally breaks the pattern of work in our lives. It reminds us that God is the initiator and completer of the work and of our mission, even as we have been called to be fruitful and multiply. Just as we work to honor and glorify God, we rest to honor and glorify Him. Honoring the Sabbath gives us an opportunity to draw near to God, to listen, to be still, and to allow Him to restore us. We can’t put off Sabbathing until the work is done, for it will never be done.

God set the precedence for rest in the beginning. He set the Sabbath apart as holy, and He desires for us to honor and enjoy that time as He uses it to reveal more of Himself to us. We need to follow His example - for our good and His glory.

"So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." - Genesis 2:3

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