I don’t know about you but I have a hard time resting. I enjoy the idea of resting and I certainly think I need more rest, but when my day of rest rolls around I find that I’m tackling a different “To Do” list. That’s the list that consists of all of the personal things I need to get taken care of so my life stays together. I’m sure you have a list like that as well.
Everyone says they need more rest, but no one tells you how to rest. We all need a rhythm of rest but we haven’t been taught how to rest. For me, resting conjures up images of sleep and taking a whole day to sleep sounds extremely boring. Lying on the couch all day and watching Netflix would get old really fast and I certainly wouldn’t be looking forward to my day of rest.
Part of the problem is that it is easy to confuse active rest with passive rest. Passive rest is more of the lounging and napping variety, whereas active rest means that you are doing certain key activities that fill you up.
It has been helpful for me to imagine my emotional, spiritual, and physical energy much like a glass of water. Over the week (even over a day) my glass has less and less in it. When you have a healthy rhythm of rest it begins to refill your glass so you are ready for the next week. If you are not taking that day to rest…there is a very real reason why you feel like you are running on empty. You’ve allowed yourself to get so depleted you have nothing left to give in any of the areas that matter. You are in survival mode instead of thriving.
So what are the things you need to DO when you are resting?
Here are 3 things that I’ve learned that have helped me:
1. Rest Your Body
Yes, you do actually need sleep and it is okay to sleep in occasionally. There is a place for passive rest on your day off.
2. Recharge Your Emotions
This is a big one for most of us. It is important for you to be with people who are positive and emotionally healthy. You want to be around people who believe in you and the race God has called you to run…people who want to see you win. Someone once encouraged me not to participate in anything that is competitive on my day off. This is not a day to rev your rpm’s. It’s a day to slow down. Who are the people that you feel refreshed after spending time with? What relationships fill you up? Spend time with those people on your day of rest.
3. Refocus Your Spirit
It’s easy to forget about your spirit and this is why I think some people start the work week exhausted. They haven’t taken time to refocus on the Creator and Sustainer of Life. God wanted us to have a day of rest not just for our bodies but also so we can spend time with Him. Taking time to worship God and refocus on what life is all about brings temporary challenges and obstacles into a healthier, eternal perspective. Family and relationships are important, they just make for a poor center of life. Being the center of your world is too big of a role for your kids to play. You need God at the center of your race. You need to gather with other like-minded people to gain a bigger picture and remind yourself of the great story God is telling. Your local church is the perfect place to do this! No church is perfect…which is okay because you’ll fit right in (wink). Find one and jump in! A church is the best place to find people who are great at #2.
Jesus said it this way, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
Don’t neglect the caring of your Spirit.
Make a plan right now on how you can do these 3 things on your next day off. You don’t have to live on empty.
