4 minute Read
By Bethany Rees

The Lost Art of True Rest: 

American society is trying its best to be like the Energizer Bunny so it can just keep going and going and going. 

Even when we’re not technically working, we’re busy. 

One thought is we have so much technology attached to us that we are always available to the mental stimulation of work email and reminders of our current social status. 

Another thought is we have so much darn stuff and scheduled activities now, it takes tons of extra work just to keep up with ourselves.  

And when we become tired of our busy lives, we decide to “rest” by checking out of our world to wander down the rabbit hole of binge watching and scrolling through movies, shows, and reels.  

Just like Alice in Wonderland wandering down the never ending rabbit hole to a whole new world, we often give up hours of our lives to chase after something that isn’t real, and provides little return on our time investment. 

The Tik Tok app was well named because you go in just for a quick laugh of a short video and….TIK TOK…TIK TOK…TIK TOK…you come out hours later not realizing how much of your life you’ve just traded down for the visual stimulation of creative videos. 

After the hours of supposed “rest” watching and scrolling you go back to your busy life still feeling tired and unenergized to carry on about your work. 

The reason you are still tired is because you never actually rested your whole being. 

You may have sat down and took a break from physical activity but your whole being was never given the opportunity to truly rest, take a Sabbath, and be restored in flesh, soul, and spirit. 

And TRUE REST for your whole being is the best kept secret to living a full life! 

Let me explain…

You are made of flesh, soul, and spirit. The flesh is simply our physical desires for safety, nourishment, and things of pleasure. The soul is our mind and inner emotional desires for love, affirmation, validation, and the like. And our spirit is our innermost being that desires to connect with God our creator. 

We have lost the art of how to rest our whole being. And rest is the recharging of our internal batteries that allow us to be energized and present so we can live our lives to the fullest. 

In the bible, God commanded that His people take a Sabbath, a full day of rest from work to focus on worship. In taking a Sabbath, people not only rested their flesh (no physical labor and their nourishment already provided for), but their soul (time for emotional connection with family and friends), and their spirit (time for worship and connection with God). 

But today, we are not taking a Sabbath to rest and reconnect our whole being. Sure we may nap or binge watch our favorite show on a Sunday, but that is only meeting the physical or flesh side of our being. We need to be intentional in resting and recharging our soul and spirit too. 

As Joshua Becker says in his book on minimalism: 

“Often, we spend our time and energy chasing things that are physical in nature.” 

“We were created to live for pursuits greater than comfort, luxury, and competition. We were created to trade our lives up, not down.” 

Before our lives got busy with things of technology, sports programs on steroids, and working extra hours to pay for the stuff we don’t need, the majority of society took a Sabbath. Time to rest from physical labor, time to connect with family, and time to connect with God.

Ok, truth be told most people took a Sabbath because they didn't have electricity, internet, or phones...BUT with all our means and distractions today we have to be even more intentional in unplugging from busyness and plugging into true rest so we are recharged. 

So as you go about your busy lives, take back your life by trading up not down. Be intentional in taking time for a Sabbath, a day of true rest for your flesh, soul, and spirit. You’ll be amazed at how you will feel a renewal of energy and peace so you can go about your life….living it to the fullest. 

Know Better. Do Better. Live Better. Take a Sabbath!

Rocks before Sand!

Scripture: 

“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

 ~ Hebrews 4:9-11

Theme Song: 

Worship Together - I Will Rest in You (with lyrics)

References Used:

• Becker, Joshua. Clutterfree with Kids. Becoming Minimalist. 2014.
• The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.