Resting is much more than just “cutting back” on the daily routine. A survey by Harris Interactive found that, at the end of 2012, Americans had an average of nine unused vacation days. This means most Americans and their brains are preoccupied with work much of the time. We are fooling ourselves into believing we are resting enough.
The need for true rest should comes as no surprise to us as in Genesis 2:2-3 , our Creator rested and then commands us to do the same in Exodus 20:8-10. There is research to back this up. “Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets,” essayist Tim Kreider wrote in The New York Times. “The space and quiet that idleness provides is a necessary condition for standing back from life and seeing it whole, for making unexpected connections and waiting for the wild summer lightning strikes of inspiration—it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done.”
Rest is good
Contrary to what we believe, downtime replenishes the brain’s stores of attention and motivation, encourages productivity and creativity, and is essential to both achieve our highest levels of performance and simply form stable memories in everyday life. This means we must actually work at resting. This involves taking deliberate steps to schedule for rest time which may include things such as: vacation, secluded prayer time, walks in a park, gardens and other peaceful outdoor spaces; napping, or simply unwinding.
What this really comes down to as question of faith. Will God be able to provide even though he’s called me to rest. There are so many important events that are scheduled into your life, today is the day to schedule your rest which is equally if not more important.
Encouragement:
We’ve been called to rest knowing He’s always in control.
Challenge:
We need to embrace the command to rest as it’s physically and mentally restorative process which our Creator has wired into us.
How will you schedule your rest? Be as detailed as possible.
