The Rest Of Your LifeSample

Rest helps me function well

If you deprive any animal of sleep, even for a short period, it will die. There are biological, physiological, psychological, theological and sociological needs for us to rest. In other words, rest is LOGICAL! Scientists used to think that when we slept, the brain shut down. Now we know that when we sleep at night our resting brains are far from idle.

In sleep, our brains go to work consolidating memories, reviewing the events and conversations of the day and looking for creative solutions to the problems we have faced. 

Every second of your life you are busy producing antibodies, repairing your-self and adapting. Removing rest damages your ability to remember and learn. You also increase your chances of stroke and heart attack, give yourself a higher chance of getting other illnesses, mess up your skin and even set yourself on a path of weight gain.

When I read information like this, I just want to praise God for how wonderfully He has made us! We are intricately built and fabulously designed. But we have a part to play in order to help ourselves function at our best.

Psalm 127: 2 (NLT) says: 

“It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.”

· Do you recognize your own life in those verses? 

· Is “anxious working” something you struggle with?

Perhaps you need reminding again of the truth that God gives rest to His loved ones.

I think one of the problems we face is that we work hard and then wait for the world to grant us the space to rest. But it never comes. I can promise you something: you are not going to magically find a time where your life slows down. Therefore, you need to deliberately practice rest now. It requires discipline and planning. If you want rest, you will have to prioritize it, diary–date-it and be intentional with it.

• Do you recognize your own need for rest?
• Do you plan rest into your diary?
• Do you ever work on your day off because you feel anxious about completing a task?

Take some time today to pray for intentional times this year when you will rest and recover. Ask God to highlight any problems in your sleep patterns that need addressing.