5 Refreshing Benefits of Rest

Slowing down can be scary when you’re used to running on the world’s treadmill. At times I have avoided rest because subconsciously I am fearful of what I will discover.

There is no need to be afraid.

Rest is something we are designed to do. God has both a purpose and a plan for it. So maybe it would be helpful to consider some of the benefits of rest.

1. Rest Re-Orients Our Thinking Patterns

When we are weary and fatigued, it’s the perfect time for the enemy to sow his lies and weave a blanket of discouragement we want to curl up under.

Rest brings our thinking into focus and allows us to see clearly what God says about what we are facing, in His word and through His past faithfulness.

Rest brings the reality of God’s strength and provision into view. We need to remind ourselves that He is the victor. We need Truth so we can wield it against the enemy’s taunts. Rest enables us to see the devil as he really is: a liar, cheat, accuser and more.

2. Rest Refreshes Us

Like a sip of cold water to the thirsty, we’ll never know how much we need rest until we put our feet up.

Worry and striving will fade away when we allow God to be our source for all things. When we give our mind and heart some wiggle room, we discover peace and the strength to open our hands to release the burdens that weigh us down.

3. Rest Recharges Our Batteries

We can simply be worn out. Stress, worry, busyness, over-commitment—all of this wears us down. We need to recharge—and only resting can accomplish that. There comes a time when we have to just say, “That’s it. I am taking the time to rest.”

Times of rest are never wasted. God is God. He is at work even when we sleep. Resting allows for us to admit we need His strength.

4. Rest Helps Us to Refocus

Fatigue skews our outlook until we are staring in the face of the Deadly-D’s:

• Doubt
• Discouragement
• Defeat
• Despair

Rest helps us to adjust our focus so we can see our situation more clearly. We gain perspective as we are quiet in God’s presence, immersed in His word and surrendered to His care.

5. Rest Revives

Once we succumb to the weariness, our response to things to do or places to go is apathy. We don’t have the energy—our margin is worn thin and we would rather hibernate.

Rest revives us with the energy that we lack so that we can flourish and get excited about life again. We discover that our creativity returns as well as the spring in our step.

How have you benefited by resting?

I’d love to hear about times when you simply decided enough is enough. Do you rest willingly or are you reluctant to surrender?

Time out to rest accomplishes far more than we realize.

The benefits of rest are often explained away when we are running a hundred miles an hour and have the world chasing us. But, when we rest, we allow God to capture us in His embrace and give us just what we need to run the rest of the race with the strength He provides.

Do you need to rest?

Jeanne Doyon’s ministry, Pausing to See God Clearly, encourages us to draw nearer to the Lover of our soul. She connects the truths in Scripture to the ordinary events of life and shares her reflections on her blog, The Stream’s Edge, and speaks at women’s retreats and events. Jeanne enjoys photography, tea, time with friends, and creating with beads. She and her husband John live in Connecticut; they have three grown children and a daughter-in-law, all who live too far away.

Contact her at jeanne.doyon@gmail.com and visit www.JeanneDoyon.com to find out more about her ministry. You can also find and follow Jeanne on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest.

This article originally appeared on JeanneDoyon.com, used with permission.

Image courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com

Publication date: October 22, 2015