Four Things That Happen When God Says Rest

He makes me to lie down in fresh, tender green pastures. 

Psalm 23:2a 

When my children were young, they never wanted to lay down for a nap. They thought they were going to miss something.  Somehow they saw this short period of rest as a form of punishment.

At the beginning of the year after a heavy season of prayer and consecration, I was ready to move full speed ahead, when I heard the Lord say, "REST."  

Rest? Shouldn’t I be doing something to get things rolling this year?  

But you know, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, that’s how high His thoughts are from ours. 

I didn't understand.  But in obedience to the Lord's prompting I threw up my hands in complete surrender and made a choice to rest.

I had nothing on my daily schedule except spending time in the Word and prayer, doing my daily exercise regime, and of course getting some rest.  Each day I took a short nap and I even started going to bed earlier than usual.

What seemed like a simple instruction, wasn't as easy as I expected. I had a battle going on in my mind.  As my body tried to rest my mind would race with thoughts of all I should be doing to ensure a successful and productive year.  

I had to redirect my thoughts and began to focus on the word of God.

  

If you are a visionary person full of passion and purpose like me, you may feel as though you can’t afford to rest or you just don't have the time. But when God says rest, we must rest.  God knows what we need. And He also knows why we need it.

Whether we realize it or not, rest can actually be productive. Especially if God is leading us to rest.  

I discovered there are four main benefits of resting:

1. It allows the body time to be replenished, restored, and refreshed as it regains strength.
2. It  prepares us for the next phase of activity coming our way.
3. It pushes you from the limitations of human works into faith and trust.
4. It gives God room to work things out on our behalf.  

In essence, rest is good for the body and soul.

If you are a leader in any capacity or you are constantly giving out and pouring into others, whether on your job, at home, or at church, it’s imperative to take sufficient time to rest. 

Sometimes we think we can continue at our normal pace as if we are machines or robots, but we must realize even when our spirit is willing, our flesh does get weak.

We must allow ourselves the chance to be revived, restored, and replenished so that we are fully prepared for the season ahead.

·      To be revived means to come back around, to recover or recuperate from something.

·      To be restored means to return or bring back to its original state.

·      To be replenished means to fill or refill something once again.

     None of these can take place aside from rest.

I believe many in the body of Christ have withstood long seasons of plowing in the field, striving to fulfill their God given assignment. Some have been busy building the kingdom, or coming through a season of testing. And while it is noble to strive towards destiny and purpose, and to be used to build the kingdom of God, there comes a time when God wants us to rest.

Except the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.  It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of anxious toil – for He gives [blessings} to His beloved in sleep. Psalm 127:1,2 Amplified

In early December of 2011, the Lord taught me about the value of rest as I recovered from surgery. As I lay in bed one afternoon with tears of frustration rolling down my face, God showed me that He really didn’t need my help. It was Christmastime, the season of giving, and I wanted to offer a special promotion on my book, but I wasn't physically on mentally able to handle to challenge. 

While I rested and regained strength, to my surprise text messages, emails, and even phone calls began to pour in as friends called to tell me how much they were blessed by my radio interview as I discussed prayer and talked about my new book.

Radio interview? What radio interview?

I realized they were actually listening to an interview that had been recorded months earlier and the radio station was re-airing it during the holiday season as a way to encourage listeners.

While I rested, God took care of everything else.

I recently heard a Christian counselor say, “If we are not resting, we’re not trusting.” Oh how true.

That experience taught me how much God loves me, and how He cares about everything that concerns me. He feels the same way about you.

Are you running on empty trying to do it all? 

Are you on the brink of burnout?

Maybe it’s time to stop and rest.

If you are experiencing feelings of tiredness, weariness, and a lack of motivation, or creativity, or if you are spinning your wheels trying to figure out what to do next, try just resting.

You will not miss what God has for you.

Now that I'm well rested I see why God made me take time to rest. Things are moving fast. New opportunities are springing forth. God is calling me to do things I’ve never done before, which requires much strength and a well rested body, and a sharp and focused mind. I'm so glad I listened and obeyed. Now I can take on more and I'm up for the challenge.

After you have rested for a while you will discover that you are better, stronger, and more prepared for the next phase of what God has in store for you.