‘Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.’ Matthew 8:23-26 (NLT)
‘Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. ‘ John 4:5-6 (NLT)
‘“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working. This gives your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners living among you to be refreshed.’ Exodus 23:12 (NLT)
‘He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.’ Psalms 23:2 (NLT)
I can’t remember talking with someone who considered themselves well rested. Most people are at the precipice of exhaustion. Some of us haven’t had enough sleep for a decade! We are guilty of jam-packing twenty-nine hours’ worth of vigor into twenty-four. Insufficient sleep has become so problematic the Center for Disease Control has deemed it a “public health epidemic.”
Among other issues, fatigue causes thousands of traffic accidents every year. It slows our cognitive processing and is related to serious health problems such as heart failure, diabetes and strokes. But the reality that it impairs judgment about our need for rest, I found most fascinating! Somehow we think we’re above slowing down. It’s those other poor souls who can’t hack it. All we need is a power nap or an espresso to keep going.
The truth is, we deceive ourselves.
Even the Son of Man got tired. Once Jesus and the disciples boarded a boat, and a great storm developed. Jesus, unmoved by the hurricane-force wind and ferocious waves, sleeps through it (Matt. 8:23-24). This is not a cruise ship, and the disciples were not pansies. These were experienced fishermen who believed they were about to die. The God-man was simply exhausted.
Another time He and His disciples were traveling by foot to Samaria (John 4:6). Jesus, physically tired from the journey, needed to stop and rest, just like you and me.
You see, God created humanity to require rest. “Six days you shall labor,” (Exodus 23:12), “but on the seventh, you shall rest.” Contrary to my backward and twisted thinking, resting is not a sign of personal weakness. It’s not punishment for not being able to do it all myself. It is simply God’s good intent toward us (Psalm 23:2).
God knows our tendency toward exhaustion: physically, emotionally and often spiritually. But don’t think for a minute resting well is a call to lazy couch potato living. On the contrary! There are six days set aside for work which suggests we will be productive most of the time. But there is also a high price to pay for NOT resting. You and I need to find the Biblical balance.
Over the next few days, we will discover what the Bible says about rest, the cost of not resting, and strategies you and I can implement for learning to rest well in Christ.
from Resting Well by Cheri Strange