stop fighting rest | no. 06
Why is it that we’re always fighting rest?
Putting my daughter to bed tonight, I knew she was overly exhausted. Yet, I am always surprised when she comments things like,
“I’m not tired!”
”I can’t close my eyes…”
“I can’t reach my pillow.”
“I’m hungry!”
She finds every excuse to not fall asleep or even rest, even when it’s what her body needs the most.
Many times I find myself like my daughter, avoiding rest at all costs when I know it’s what I need most.
There is so much in Scripture about rest and in today’s culture, we are tempted to do everything but…rest.
After all, how can we? We are up all night with crying infants, serving our families or working throughout the day, cooking, cleaning, kissing boo-boos, running children where they need to be, and still trying to get our basic necessities done by the end of the day…like shower!
Our bodies, our minds, our souls are screaming for rest and we “just can’t sit down yet.”
Even though we’ve grown from being a child, when it comes to rest, we forgo that “sage wisdom” we’ve gotten in our 20s, 30s, 40s, and reverted back to the child who is so exhausted, they believe they will never be able to fall asleep.
Here’s the thing.
Our bodies were designed for rest. Our souls? Designed for rest!
Matthew 11:28-29 “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me.”
Psalms 116:7 Now I can say to myself and to all, “Relax and rest, be confident and serene, for the Lord rewards fully those who simply trust in him.”
Hebrews 4:9-10 So we conclude that there is still a full and complete Sabbath-rest waiting for believers to experience. As we enter into God’s faith-rest life we cease from our own works, just as God celebrates his finished works and rests in them.
2 Thessalonians 1:2 May God’s delightful grace and peace rest upon you.
Proverbs 3:24 You will sleep like a baby, safe and sound— your rest will be sweet and secure.
Do you feel that calling to lay down and let go? Just reading about how God feels about rest makes me want to curl up in his presence and go to sleep.
Now, there is a time and a place for work, responsibilities, etc. God definitely doesn’t want us to stop feeding our children or shy away from hard things.
Given that, rest is vital in allowing us to be able to serve our families in those ways! We’ve all heard, “you can’t pour into others from an empty cup” and “put your oxygen mask on first, then help others.” But this is a deeper form of rest.
I’m not only talking about a cat nap or a shower or a day where someone else cooks for you. Those are wonderful and necessary and I encourage you to do all of those things. But those are just surface fixes.
I’ve been encouraged and challenged by the Lord lately to rest in his presence, rest from tasks that I put on myself that aren’t truly important.
What this has looked like for me has been
listening to this audio recording of Psalm 139 as often as possible (meal times are great for that)
listening to worship music/messages throughout the day
reading Scripture aloud to the kids as they fall asleep (we’ve done Ruth, Ephesians, Galatians, Song of Solomon, and now we’re on Hebrews)
speaking life instead of just “no, stop that!” discipline strategies. for example, this looked like me telling my daughter, “I said no snack earlier because of your behavior. However, God gives us good things and loves us even when we make bad choices. So I’m giving you these crackers in Jesus’ name, telling you that I love you and that I know you are better than your bad choices.”
going to bed before 11pm. This may be late for some of you, but sometimes when my husband is on night shift, I stay up really late doing “work” and honestly, God has called me out of most of it this season. I managed to get my website updated, bonnets made, and a few emails sent out and that’s really it. And it’s so good! Funny how obeying God could actually lead to joy… hmm. Most nights I’ve been finding myself crashing before 9pm and it is glorious.
spending time with Holy-Spirit-filled mamas and friends in person and over the phone. This is huge. You may think you’re in the thick of something and you can’t get out and BAM your friend who can tell you God’s perspective pulls you out of your funk with truth. Honestly, I love being able to do this for my friends too! It goes both ways.
Rest can look like many things depending on your season of life, but I know one thing that’s the same for all of us. We need to stop fighting rest, thinking we’ll get more done or get ahead or “fix” our problems. Jesus has been waiting for you to sit down, to breathe in his presence, to cast your cares on him so he can handle them FOR you!
Today, set aside a moment to rest, even if it’s just casting your cares on Jesus as they enter your mind. It’s amazing how freeing He is when we actually give Him what He wants to be responsible for.
I hope you have a wonderful week and enjoy His rest.
love, makayla
p.s. plant-dyed pom bonnets and pomless winter bonnets are back and they are adorable