Rest is not something that our culture tends to strive for. More is better and rest is for the weak. We are reminded of the catch phrase: I will sleep when I am dead. We don’t ever stop and think that without rest, our death will just catch us that must faster.

As women, we are expected to wear many hats. Daughter, sister, wife, mother, student, client, educator, and so many more. We sometimes go extreme and wear three hats at once, or change over seasons. But no matter what we are today, it will affect what we are tomorrow. The dust barely settles from one phase of life before we are thrown into the next.  There’s a nagging voice in the back of our heads snip at us, telling us to slow down, while our society driven bodies say to go-go-go.

Being pulled in two ways seems difficult enough, but all the added pressures of our daily lives doesn’t even allow for us to make choices at times. We drift through things on auto-pilot without a bat of an eye at the rules of road that the Lord set before us long ago.  We barely remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8)

God doesn’t want us to run so much that we are run into the ground, drowning in to-do lists and expectations.  He longs for us to grab onto the compassion that He is offering through His truth and command, to follow His example, to rest.

Jeremiah 31:25 ESV For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish

Learning to rest in a 24 hour period can be tough. Trying to cram in a career, parenting, marriage, school, ministry, or the many other things of life is exhausting. No wonder that the Lord mandated a day to re-coop. When God takes a day to enjoy His creation and rest in it, we should follow suit, to worship the Creator and to rest in His presence.  We should grab at the chance to take in an invigorating breath of freshness to prepare for the new week ahead.

Do we take this chance and utilize this gift? Most of us probably do not, but we can see the importance in doing so.

We need to rest in the trust that we have in the Lord. Be still and know, trust that He is God. Stop worrying about the what-ifs, the comparisons, the material things and the long lists ahead. Rely on God’s will, follow through with following His loving statutes, and He will take care of the rest.