When You Are Withered and Weathered

“He that can take rest is greater than he that can take cities.” Benjamin Franklin

Rest isn’t optional. Sometimes we wish it were. Sometimes we pretend it is.

But rest always lets us know when we neglect it. 

Many of us are finding the need for rest the hard way. Check out Mary DeMuth’s post or Wendy Blight’s Proverb’s 31 devotion or Faith Barista Bonnie Gray’s forced sabbatical. Do any of them ring true for you?

Are tears of frustration and weariness stinging your eyes? Are you wore out from doing? Are you withered and weathered? Do you need your past to catch up to your present?

Are you wondering how to do things differently?

The “different” you are seeking is likely rest—rest in two different forms.

Physical Rest

In His Word, God didn’t wait long to introduce physical rest. Genesis 2:2 reads, “By the seventh day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done.” If God deemed it important to take a break from work, who are we to ignore it? (This is an area of weakness for me.)

Getting enough downtime improves physical performance, attention, creativity, emotional state, and the list goes on. We must get adequate rest to perform well and be available.

Physical repose means not only incorporating regular sleep patterns, but also implementing periodic seasons of regrouping and rejuvenating. For parents of young children, this can be especially difficult. 

The trick is to rest without loading up on guilt. 

• Take an afternoon off
• Detach from social media
• Plan a fun getaway
• Do something completely different from the usual

… but leave the guilt at home!

Trust me, you are a better mom, dad, sibling, child, employee, employer, neighbor, and overall good egg with periodic sabbaticals.  

Spiritual Rest

Physical rest isn’t the only kind needed, or even the most important. Regular spiritual nourishment is essential to well-being. To be spiritually nourished, we must spend time with God.

Humans, as children of the Lord, were created to commune with Him. We do so by hanging with Him, spending time together—through prayer, worship, and being in the Word.

Cutting ourselves off from God leads to a burdened, barren life.

Cutting ourselves off from God leads to a burdened, barren life. Share on X

So plan daily rendezvous with Him.

I recently wrote about the importance of stepping out in faith and taking risks (read it here). And, indeed, sequestered and isolated is no way to serve and share love. However, a starving, worn-out soul is equally unable to minster.

So in between risk episodes, soak up time with the Lord and rest your body and mind. It’s not worth waiting until you have no other choice. 

Soak up time with the Lord and rest your body and mind. It's important! Share on X

“He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.’ For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.” (Mark 6:31)

Reflections: What is your favorite way to get rest?

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