God rested, so why don't we practice this type of self care more?
This is Felicia Ferguson with Christian Mix 106, helping you build faith for the journey.
During his ministry, Jesus commissioned the twelve to go out into communities publicly preaching the Gospel and healing the sick. The disciples took on their new roles quickly and enthusiastically, returning with many amazing stories sometime later. But as he listened to their recounts, Jesus seems to look beyond their adrenaline rush and sees the weariness of their souls and bodies. He invites them to take time away from the busyness around them to recharge.
Rest is yet another biblical self-care practice. Rest is so important to God, he demonstrated its need on the seventh day of creation. If that weren’t enough, between the Old and New Testaments, rest is mentioned over 800 times. Like the disciples, whether we recognize our need or bulldoze through it on to the next task or assignment, we all reach a point where we need a break.
So why do modern Christians feel so hurried, harried, and hard-pressed to NOT rest? Compared to New Testament days, our world moves much faster. News cycles run 24 hours. Work days are rarely the customary 8 hours any more. Many people work more than one job or perform gig services like food delivery or driving. Then there’s the new FOMO syndrome that’s taken hold of our culture. This fear of missing out.
Jesus says, in Matthew 28, come unto me all you who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest. We humans feel guilty taking a break to rest and yet the Lord wanted us to make rest, not merely sleep, part of our routine. In Mark 2:27, Jesus speaks. Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
Merriam-Webster lumps multiple meanings into rest, so it would be easy to think that getting in your eight hours of sleep would check off the rest self-care box. But what is rest according to the Bible? Rest in Matthew 28 is the word anapauó (an-ap-ow’-o), meaning to give intermission from labor. It means we take a break specifically to clear our minds of our responsibilities, our worries, our work. Unburden ourselves even just for a few minutes.
So next time you get up for a coffee break at work, put the kids down for a nap, or change classes at school, take a deep breath and allow yourself to forget about your responsibilities, worries, and plans for a few minutes. Unburden yourself and simply rest in the knowledge and truth that you are loved. That God has good plans for you. That he makes everything work together for good. Take a moment to truly rest. And you’ll find a sweet refreshing that will follow you through your day.
This is Felicia Ferguson. Thanks for listening to Christian Mix 106.
