How to Find True Rest in God: When Doing Nothing Isn't Enough

Heaven and Earth were finished, down to the last detail. By the seventh day God had finished his work. On the seventh day he rested from all his work. God blessed the seventh day. He made it a Holy Day because on that day he rested from his work, all the creating God had done. This is the story of how it all started, of Heaven and Earth when they were created.

Genesis 2:1-4 MSG (emphasis added)

Working is good. We are created in the image of a creative God. He made everything from nothing. Throughout the Bible we read scripture that clearly states that we were created to “do”. From the beginning God never intended us to sit on our bluffs and sip nectar and honey. He gave us instructions to cultivate and to take dominion. Work was always an intention. AND we also find in scripture times that people swing that pendulum so far that work is all that we do.

There are warnings about both being lazy and being all about works.

In today’s crazy busy world it is easy for us to fill our days with stuff. Good stuff, bad stuff, just stuff. But how often are we filling our days with the right stuff?

For myself, I have tried this last year to be very intentional about rest. It was actually one of my words for the last couple of years. (Clearly I’ve had to go around that mountain a few times.) You see I am very much the multiple projects person. Whether it is house projects to the bain of my husband and dear father-in-law or projects at work, or kids sports. We always have projects going and a long line up behind those. I am very good at saying, “Well, that’s just the season of life I am in.” Which yes some seasons are busier than others, but the reality is that if there is space I am the person that fills that space up.

I also am the person that makes sure that we take time for the family. We take vacations and have the toys. Going to the lake or camping is a whole thing. We have so much that is “needed” to find that vacay mode we are searching for that when we get home we need a vacation from our vacation.

Or we keep ourselves so busy that when we do finally have a minute to ourselves on the weekend where nothing is planned we veg out. We Netflix or doom-scroll. We lay on the couch and become those potato’s that our Gen X parents warned we would become. We take a day of “REST”.

But you know the truth, no matter how much of that we would do, we would end the night feeling yucky and exhausted. I would struggle to sleep and wake up after our “restful day” sometimes feeling worse than if I had just gone about my business the previous day.

You see, rest, real rest, was always a part of the plan. God mirrored it for us when He rested after His time creating all things. But I would bet everything that I had that even if Netflix was a thing we would not have caught God binge watching anything.

The reality is that rest is not the act of doing nothing, it is about doing what fills our cup!

We have to be intentional about how we rest. What brings joy and peace to our lives? What causes us to finally exhale that sigh of relief when we finally reach it and puts a smile on our face? That, I believe, is true and lasting rest. So what fills your cup?

If you don’t know, don’t fear! Take a deep breath. It’s never to late to figure this out. And I would challenge you that if you do not feel rested after your normal “rest” day activities then change it up. Search. Maybe rest to you is some peace and quiet where you can spend time in the word and worship. Maybe to you rest looks like a playing a family game or doing a diamond puzzle. Maybe rest to you is cuddle time with the ones you love or a good book. Maybe it is taking a walk and just looking around at all that God has created. We were created in the image of a very creative God, so let your imagination run!

We shouldn't be doing life from an empty cup. Rest is not something that we have to earn. So find what brings you rest and peace. Find what puts a genuine smile on your face when you think about it and start there. And this is very important, when/if that thing you thought would bring you rest becomes a frustration, step away and find something else! We should not have to fight rest, but we may have to learn how to rest. Forced rest isn’t true rest.

Despite how this sounds, rest is not a pass or fail test to take. But if we are constantly pouring from an empty cup we are not doing anyone any favors and we are not loving the people around us the way that Jesus has call us to love them. All of us can find excuse after excuse to not rest. What will it take for us, as women, to shift our mindset from "I don't have time to rest" to recognizing how much more effective we can be when we live the way God always intended—well rested? When are we going to realize that at the very beginning God instituted and gave us permission to rest, and to rest well?

Go fill your cup sis,