Practical Rest

Heb.4:⁹ “So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. ¹⁰ For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labours, just as God did after creating the world.”

The question on our minds is how practical is it to rest in today’s world where everything seems to be happening at jet speed. Yesterday, I shared with you something I also learnt from Rick Warren and it has changed my life totally. I learnt to do three things: deflect daily, withdraw weekly and abandon annually.

I will tell you what I do when I deflect, withdraw and abandon. I deliberately create time for three ‘R’s’. I deliberately create time for Rest, I create time for Recreation(I play games a lot, different types of games) and I create time for Relationships. I actually pause and look into my wife’s eyes and take time to talk to her. You need to do that consistently and this applies to both the men and women in a marital relationship. You cannot just be on your computer all day, you need to pause and let go of the machine.  She comes to talk to you, you listen but your eyes are on your computer screen. You need to stop, turn around and look into her eyes and then respond to what she is saying.

I create time for recreation. Hold your wife and invite her out for a stroll. Just get out of the house, walk and talk about anything but work. This is not the time to be greeting everyone on the street. Rest sometimes can mean sleep but rest is not always about sleeping. Your eyes may be closed but your mind is still at the office. Sometimes, it translates to doing something different. If your day typically is heavy on mental work, you may want to have a play wrestling match with your wife. If your day is heavy on physical tasks, you may want to watch a movie with your children and just laugh.

These things do not just happen unless you are deliberate about it. You have to create the time for it. When you place a priority on rest, you will find time as much as you can daily for these three ‘R’s’. One day a week, just shutdown to everything related to work and just worship. It will not kill you; you will discover that you will be even more productive. Set your annual vacation as part of your goals for the year and actually abandon annually.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, help me to actually plan my rest daily, weekly and annually, in Jesus Name. Amen!