On the importance of rest

After the Israelites drove out many of the inhabitants of the promise land, the Bible says God gave them rest. It's an important notation, as many think we should always strive for something. No, there is a time for fighting and a time for rest. I feel barren in the latter category, perhaps because I have not fought enough. Or perhaps because I haven't allowed myself an important blessing: rest. 

Rest is an important and beautiful reward God gives His people. If you feel you lack rest in your life, ask the Lord why. It could be something incredibly simple is hindering it. Ask for rest. You need it. Most likely, you want it. God wants you to have it. Get it! 

Yesterday, I suddenly realized I felt bizarrely grumpy and took a moment to lay down. I lacked rest. All the things I wanted to do (there were many) would have to wait. I laid down but didn't sleep. It was still enough to gather strength for the rest of my day. 

If you are God's soldier (and you are), allow time for rest. The devil loves to get God's people overtired, stressed, and occupied. Rest, reflect on what is important, and go forth with new energy. The Bible says to wait on God and He will renew (actually exchange) your strength, meaning He will take your strength (which is probably small) and give you new strength (a lot more than you thought possible). That sounds quite nice.  

Consider Elijah illogically fleeing from Jezebel after he slew however many priests of Baal. Here he was on the mountain top and then crashed shortly after. The devil will always come to you in that moment of weakness when you are physically drained, emotionally spent, and just achieved a major victory and will attempt to destroy you. Elijah just had a major victory but ran in fear from a woman. What was God's prescription? Rest and food. Such a simple thing but incredibly necessary. 

When considering all your blessings, and I'm sure you have many, don't forget to make time to rest. That is one of God's blessings. There is a reason God told us not to work one day a week. We aren't meant to work constantly. That wears us out and then we get sick and our bodies make up the time we should have been resting. God knows what we need. And sometimes what we need is rest. I encourage you, if this short post spoke to you, to consider rest a blessing and seek it out as often as necessary. In the beginning you may need a lot, especially if you've been missing it for a few years. Eventually you'll moderate and require less. Rest is a blessing. It's time Christians see it that way. Amen. 

Thank you for reading. And God bless.

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