Thursday, July 19, 2012

Take Your Rest

I had the pleasure of engaging in conversation with a young Virtuous Woman the other day at church.  I could see God blessing her as she shared what was currently going on in her life.  The topic of conversation had to do with rest and appreciating the slow or not so busy seasons in our lives.

A lot of times women in general just go, go, go. They tend to the needs of others and forget about themselves.  If you look at Proverbs 31 you may wonder when does this woman rest?  There is so much on her plate -- so much that she is doing that it looks as if every minute of her day is spent.  I submit to you that without rest and some relaxation there is no way that she could be the Virtuous Woman.  She would be burned out, frustrated and probably have one of the worst attitudes ever.  These are some side effects that result from a lack of rest.

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven: Proverbs 3:1.  Yes, there is a time to rest and relax.  If we do not take the time to rest and relax or just do things that we enjoy there is no way that we could continue in serving others.  God is not against us resting.  Let us not forget that in Genesis God rested on the seventh day after his labors.  In Matthew 29:11 Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."  The cycle is work then rest.  There are very few times in the Bible that I see rest without work or some type of exertion.  Hebrews 4 talks about laboring to enter into the rest. 

For all that you do rest is your reward.  Rest is more than sleeping, though it should definitely include sleep (6-8 hours) because it is during sleep that our bodies repair themselves.  For someone it could be sitting watching their favorite program, reading a novel, doing a sudoku puzzle (my favorite), or some other not too intense hobby. .

During the seasons that you are not as busy, please take advantage because there will be a time when you swamped with tasks.  Personally the season when I get the most rest is during the Summer months.  My children are out of school, there's no basketball league, and just not a whole lot going on.  As a matter of fact they visited their grandparents in Chicago for six weeks this Summer and I was so blessed.  My chore load had lightened and there were less errands and running around to do.  That season for me is now over and soon they'll be going back to school.  I'll be in another gear.  I thank God that he wants rest for me and that I have learned to take it.  Without it I know that I could not be the woman that I am.  So I encourage you to take your rest and enjoy the down seasons.