Getting Our Act Together: The Gift of Rest

Marriage, motherhood, and ministry brought new weapons into the fray. Ridiculously crowded schedules and chronic fatigue seemed to be regarded as holy medals of honor, so I signed up and quickly learned the unspoken rules of successful Christian living - rest is for the wicked, exhaustion is for the holy, fast food is for the fully devoted and burnout is the ultimate goal. At times, I can almost hear Satan standing in the wings, laughing at my skewed priorities and lack of discipline, knowing that his opening is just around the corner. 

There is simply no way around the truth that discipline is part of trusting God with our health. We cannot give our hearts to God but keep our bodies for ourselves. To do so is sin. It’s time for a new plan and a new way of thinking when it comes to disciplining the body. 

Eliminate Diets

Replace all “diets” with a “healthy eating plan.” Fad diets are quick fixes and rarely work long-term. A healthy eating plan requires a lifestyle change and is not only a matter of how much we weigh but a matter of what we eat, as well. Many thin people follow diets that are just as unhealthy as the diets of overweight people. Ask yourself, “Is this good for me?” instead of “Is this fattening?” A healthy eating plan honors God. 

Get Moving

A friend once told me her favorite exercise was opening and closing the refrigerator door. Hmm-not good! Set realistic goals in the area of exercise. Start with 15 minutes a day, three times a week. Gradually increase that time. Choose an activity with a dual purpose. For example, while you are walking, you can pray. Walking can be a healthy way of dealing with anger, venting frustration to God instead of others. A walk can also serve as a “mini-retreat” during a chaotic day. Ask God to change your perspective on exercise – then take the first step. He will meet you there.

Learn to Rest

Rest is not an option if we are to function at our best. We sometimes try to feed emotional needs by refusing to rest. We stay busy because we are afraid to face our past or even the future. Guilt keeps us moving, trying to prove our worth. For most of my adult life, I have wrongly equated being busy with being productive. I am guilty as charged when it comes to living each day in overdrive. My day-timer has, at times, been my Bible. The result has always been exhaustion, burnout, and watered-down living. When I fell into the pit of clinical depression, everything looked great on the outside, but God and I both knew that the facade I had so carefully erected was nothing more than a meaningless monument to self. The house built upon the sand seemed like very familiar digs, and I was not alone. 

We are masters of rationalizing our way to man’s approval. I am convinced that when we are willing to surrender our lives to the tyranny of the urgent, the enemy will keep them coming – people who need us immediately, those who clamor for our attention above our family and our personal relationship with God or the person who can talk to no one but us. The list of ego strokes is long. 

1 Corinthians 6:19 (NIV) “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.”

Through the years, God has grabbed my attention with an illness that drove me to bed or a crisis that drove me to my knees. He is a persistent Father who understands the value of rest. Jesus even modeled the truth that it is in Sabbath moments where we will find Him most precious and hear His voice more clearly. After all, He was in charge of the creation process that included the need for rest. Did God need to rest? Obviously not, but by creating a day of rest, He drove home the fact that our bodies were created in such a way that rest is not an option.

Make no mistake – we will rest – one way or another. The psalmist writes, “He makes me rest in green pastures” (Psalm 23:2, ICB). I know from my own experience, that the word “makes” holds worlds of possibilities from God’s hand. Learning to rest demands an understanding of several basic truths. 

Rest Is Sacred

Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is sleep. The human body is programmed for a certain amount of rest. We can cheat it short term but not long term. Rest affects the efficiency rating of this frail body in which we dwell. 

Rest Is Replenishing

While we rest, the Father repairs and restores. We run on “batteries” that must be re-charged daily. When I am tired, it is much harder for me to handle stress, and I know you will agree with me when I say that life can be stressful. 

Rest Reduces Stress

Doctors say stress can be good or bad, but either way, stress takes its toll. Elijah is a great example of good stress gone bad. One day he was the conquering hero, the next day, we find him sitting under a juniper tree, begging God to let him die! The poor man was exhausted. It was stress produced by victory, but stress, nonetheless. 

Rest Eliminates Fatigue

Fatigue is not a spiritual gift, but we proudly wear dark-circled eyes as badges of honor and sacrificial service. The enemy loves it! If he can keep us exhausted, we are no threat to him. We must learn to rest and when we need to rest. I have discovered an irritating truth with no escape clause – we need to rest most when we have the least amount of time to rest. I don’t like it when God calls me from my vicious circle of daily life into His presence. After all, I spent a lot of time getting all of those irons into the fire I built with my own ideas and plans. However, every time I obey His call to “come apart,” He transforms ineffective activity into powerful living. We need to stop, be still and rest. Our bodies house the Holy Spirit. In what condition is your dwelling place for God? Is He pleased with His temple?

A lack of physical discipline is a foothold for the enemy, an unlocked door through which disobedience and failure ride on the wings of Satan’s best schemes. It is time for us to embrace and apply physical discipline as a gift and commandment from God. We must trust God with our health.

Lord, today, I recognize my physical body as the temple of God. I commit to taking better care of my body by getting more rest, eating healthier foods, and getting more exercise. I will make better choices about how to spend my time in order to make health a higher priority in my daily life. I praise You for the gift of health and celebrate the gift of life each day holds. I trust You with my health as an act of obedience and worship.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Related Resource: Listen to our FREE Podcast on Stress! The Stress Less Podcast with Bonnie Gray. You can listen to the first episode right here. For more episodes, visit LifeAudio.com!

Photo credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/Mkovalevskaya

Mary Southerland is also the Co-founder of Girlfriends in God, a conference and devotion ministry for women. Mary’s books include, Hope in the Midst of Depression, Sandpaper People, Escaping the Stress Trap, Experiencing God’s Power in Your Ministry, 10-Day Trust Adventure, You Make Me So Angry, How to Study the Bible, Fit for Life, Joy for the Journey, and Life Is So Daily. Mary relishes her ministry as a wife, a mother to their two children, Jered and Danna, and Mimi to her six grandchildren – Jaydan, Lelia, Justus, Hudson, Mo, and Nori.