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Devotion – REST
This devotion is entirely
based on reading plan on the Bible App called: “SCARED REST – 5 DAY READING
PLAN” If you want to read it, please find it on the Bible app or find the book
about Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity by
Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith [LINK: http://ichoosemybestlife.com/sacred-rest/]
v
CONSUMING FIRE
There should be a “Get Out of Your Responsibilities” card you can play on those days when life is just too difficult, days when everything within you wants a moment simply to be still. Peace comes in many forms. Sometimes we don’t have time for a long, drawn-out me-time ritualistic activities. No mani-pedi. No hot tea and biscuits. No caramel macchiato. No Dead Sea salt–infused bath. If I’m completely honest, I’m to blame for this storm. I created it. I fueled it. I continually recruit and pull others into it with me. I didn’t mean to do it. It is just a reality of the life I created.
You see, I’m a doer. If I’m not doing something, I’m wasting my time. At least that is what I thought, until a few years ago when I found myself looking up from a compromising position into the face of my smug husband asking, “What in the world are you doing on the floor?” Only one answer came to mind— burning.
The image that came to mind was that of kindling being consumed by fire. I was the kindling. I was burned out, and the life I had created was consuming all I held valuable. But on this day, I was kindling being consumed by an eternal fire. A fire with the power to destroy the heaviness of busyness and ignite a hunger to draw nearer to the sacred sanctuary of rest.
There should be a “Get Out of Your Responsibilities” card you can play on those days when life is just too difficult, days when everything within you wants a moment simply to be still. Peace comes in many forms. Sometimes we don’t have time for a long, drawn-out me-time ritualistic activities. No mani-pedi. No hot tea and biscuits. No caramel macchiato. No Dead Sea salt–infused bath. If I’m completely honest, I’m to blame for this storm. I created it. I fueled it. I continually recruit and pull others into it with me. I didn’t mean to do it. It is just a reality of the life I created.
You see, I’m a doer. If I’m not doing something, I’m wasting my time. At least that is what I thought, until a few years ago when I found myself looking up from a compromising position into the face of my smug husband asking, “What in the world are you doing on the floor?” Only one answer came to mind— burning.
The image that came to mind was that of kindling being consumed by fire. I was the kindling. I was burned out, and the life I had created was consuming all I held valuable. But on this day, I was kindling being consumed by an eternal fire. A fire with the power to destroy the heaviness of busyness and ignite a hunger to draw nearer to the sacred sanctuary of rest.
v GIVE IT A REST
In Isaiah 30: 12– 15, God is talking to the people about the
many promises He has told them to expect in their lives. Great promises they
have yet to see. The delays have made them skeptical of His faithfulness. The
hard times have made them question His love. He explains to them it is not by
His choice they have not seen the promises fulfilled; it is by their choices.
His reply as I interpreted it: “You would rather trust in a system that has been driving you into the ground and rely on that system more than you would like to rely on My way of doing things. That’s why you’re in the situation you’re in now. the solution is to return to resting, in order to be you saved, in quietness and trust shall be your strength. But you are unwilling. You are unwilling to do the simple. You resist doing what should come naturally. You would rather do that which is hard. You would rather struggle than rest. You would rather work under a sense of obligation than learn how to surrender to peace. You would rather fight for every blessing rather than trust goodness is following you. You would rather see it before you believe it. You are afraid of rest.”
It’s time to stop trying to fulfill every promise by our blood, sweat, and tears. It’s time to go back to the beginning when rest was required, when rest was sacred. When quietness was not a weakness and trust was not something to fear. Where we saw them for what they truly are, needed ingredients in a life worth living. Return to rest, quietness, and trust as a deer returns to a stream. Return to the source of your strength, and in doing so, you will be saved.
His reply as I interpreted it: “You would rather trust in a system that has been driving you into the ground and rely on that system more than you would like to rely on My way of doing things. That’s why you’re in the situation you’re in now. the solution is to return to resting, in order to be you saved, in quietness and trust shall be your strength. But you are unwilling. You are unwilling to do the simple. You resist doing what should come naturally. You would rather do that which is hard. You would rather struggle than rest. You would rather work under a sense of obligation than learn how to surrender to peace. You would rather fight for every blessing rather than trust goodness is following you. You would rather see it before you believe it. You are afraid of rest.”
It’s time to stop trying to fulfill every promise by our blood, sweat, and tears. It’s time to go back to the beginning when rest was required, when rest was sacred. When quietness was not a weakness and trust was not something to fear. Where we saw them for what they truly are, needed ingredients in a life worth living. Return to rest, quietness, and trust as a deer returns to a stream. Return to the source of your strength, and in doing so, you will be saved.
v
SWEET
SLEEP
Have you ever tried to fix your chronically tired self by purposely sleeping a few extra hours on the weekend, only to wake up feeling like you’ve never rested at all? You had great intentions, but missed one vital piece of the puzzle: Sleep is not rest. As different parts of an intricate system, sleep and rest are designed to work together to ensure every part of you has a way to regenerate and be restored.
When I was in college, I could sleep like a baby. The second my head hit the pillow I’d be out. In medical school, I started having trouble falling asleep. At first, it took five to ten minutes before I could go to sleep. Now it can take up to an hour when I lie down at night.”
“Wow, an hour. As tired as you are at the end of a shift, I would have thought you’d fall asleep quickly,” I mused.
“I know, right? But that’s the thing; good sleep is gentle. It comes in quietly, descends upon you, and replenishes you. Bad sleep comes in like a flood, overtakes you, and leaves you feeling spent. It’s the good I’m missing.”
Sleep is a biological necessity. Trying to omit it will slow your productivity and eventually kill you. In an attempt to check this life function off our to-do list every night, many of us have settled for sleep at any cost and of any quality. Our problem isn’t simply a need for more sleep. Our problem is that we are missing the good. Sleep is different from rest, but good-quality sleep trickles down from a life well rested. We may sleep in response to rest, but resting doesn’t require us to be in a state of sleep. Sometimes as my friend confessed, sleep is not restful at all. Then there are also those times when even with a lack of sleep, we surprisingly feel rested and ready to tackle the day. The deciding factor is the difference between good sleep and bad sleep.
There has to be a bridge between good and bad sleep, and that bridge is rest. Sleep is solely a physical activity. Rest, however, penetrates into the spiritual. Rest speaks peace into the daily storms your mind, body, and spirit encounter. Rest is what makes sleep sweet.
Have you ever tried to fix your chronically tired self by purposely sleeping a few extra hours on the weekend, only to wake up feeling like you’ve never rested at all? You had great intentions, but missed one vital piece of the puzzle: Sleep is not rest. As different parts of an intricate system, sleep and rest are designed to work together to ensure every part of you has a way to regenerate and be restored.
When I was in college, I could sleep like a baby. The second my head hit the pillow I’d be out. In medical school, I started having trouble falling asleep. At first, it took five to ten minutes before I could go to sleep. Now it can take up to an hour when I lie down at night.”
“Wow, an hour. As tired as you are at the end of a shift, I would have thought you’d fall asleep quickly,” I mused.
“I know, right? But that’s the thing; good sleep is gentle. It comes in quietly, descends upon you, and replenishes you. Bad sleep comes in like a flood, overtakes you, and leaves you feeling spent. It’s the good I’m missing.”
Sleep is a biological necessity. Trying to omit it will slow your productivity and eventually kill you. In an attempt to check this life function off our to-do list every night, many of us have settled for sleep at any cost and of any quality. Our problem isn’t simply a need for more sleep. Our problem is that we are missing the good. Sleep is different from rest, but good-quality sleep trickles down from a life well rested. We may sleep in response to rest, but resting doesn’t require us to be in a state of sleep. Sometimes as my friend confessed, sleep is not restful at all. Then there are also those times when even with a lack of sleep, we surprisingly feel rested and ready to tackle the day. The deciding factor is the difference between good sleep and bad sleep.
There has to be a bridge between good and bad sleep, and that bridge is rest. Sleep is solely a physical activity. Rest, however, penetrates into the spiritual. Rest speaks peace into the daily storms your mind, body, and spirit encounter. Rest is what makes sleep sweet.
v
A
SECOND CHANCE
The sacredness of rest remains even when we refuse to acknowledge it. The need to break away, for the body to have periods of peace, is rooted in our anatomy. We must have opportunities to heal. The mind must have a reprieve from thinking. The body needs rest from movement. Emotions need a release. The senses desire to be quieted. We need the social grace to find rest in another. Our soul yearns to soak in the created beauty around it, and our spirit calls for a relationship with the holy.
Healing occurs when we allow ourselves the time, space, and grace to be in the presence of God in the middle of our busy lives. Rest causes you to be still and seek to know God. It calls for you to look deeper at yourself and your surroundings. It forces you to stop.
We often view life as if looking through the window of a speeding car. Rest, rather, implores you to slow down and fully live. Rest is not simply pushing the pause button on your day. Rest is not merely taking a break. Rest is about replenishing, restoring, renewing, recovering, rebuilding, regenerating, remolding, and repairing. Rest begins with the prefix re- because it requires us to go back to a prior state. It is a second chance. It’s an opportunity to put back in order anything that has shifted out of alignment with God’s best.
The sacredness of rest remains even when we refuse to acknowledge it. The need to break away, for the body to have periods of peace, is rooted in our anatomy. We must have opportunities to heal. The mind must have a reprieve from thinking. The body needs rest from movement. Emotions need a release. The senses desire to be quieted. We need the social grace to find rest in another. Our soul yearns to soak in the created beauty around it, and our spirit calls for a relationship with the holy.
Healing occurs when we allow ourselves the time, space, and grace to be in the presence of God in the middle of our busy lives. Rest causes you to be still and seek to know God. It calls for you to look deeper at yourself and your surroundings. It forces you to stop.
We often view life as if looking through the window of a speeding car. Rest, rather, implores you to slow down and fully live. Rest is not simply pushing the pause button on your day. Rest is not merely taking a break. Rest is about replenishing, restoring, renewing, recovering, rebuilding, regenerating, remolding, and repairing. Rest begins with the prefix re- because it requires us to go back to a prior state. It is a second chance. It’s an opportunity to put back in order anything that has shifted out of alignment with God’s best.
v REDEFINE REST
All rest is not created equal. Much of what we consider rest fails to work because it is not restful. Shifting our activities or changing the location of where we are active is no more restful than doing those same activities at home. The most effective rest occurs when we are purposefully reviving the parts of our life we regularly deplete.
All rest is not created equal. Much of what we consider rest fails to work because it is not restful. Shifting our activities or changing the location of where we are active is no more restful than doing those same activities at home. The most effective rest occurs when we are purposefully reviving the parts of our life we regularly deplete.
Your body needs physical, mental, emotional, spiritual,
social, sensory, and creative rest. Omit any one of these, and you will feel
the consequences of the resulting rest deficit.
So what kind of tired are you?
example; (conclusion)
If you awake full of energy every morning and are dragging by the afternoon, you may be missing adequate physical rest to sustain your day. If you get out of bed tired in the morning and then become energized as the day progresses, you may be experiencing creative restlessness. And if you experience an overall lack of meaning and fulfillment, a spiritual or emotional rest deficit may be to blame. Understanding which type of rest you are deficient in is critical to correcting this imbalance.
If your job is mentally draining but physically undemanding, physical rest will fail to leave you feeling rested. Mental rest is what’s required to bring your mental reservoir back to a healthy level. If you spend most of your day staring at a bright computer screen or hearing constant noise, your body will need sensory rest to feel renewed. If your circumstances cause you to struggle with faith and the meaning of life, your soul will desire spiritual rest to return to a place of peaceful contentment. For every depleting activity in your day, there is a counter reviving activity to balance the scales.
Take a moment identify your rest deficits. Complete the personal rest deficit assessment you’ll find here. It ’s important you take an introspective look at your current state. Doing so will allow you to see immediately which types of rest you need to focus on getting and which types you already excel at obtaining. [LINK: http://www.RestQuiz.com]
So what kind of tired are you?
example; (conclusion)
If you awake full of energy every morning and are dragging by the afternoon, you may be missing adequate physical rest to sustain your day. If you get out of bed tired in the morning and then become energized as the day progresses, you may be experiencing creative restlessness. And if you experience an overall lack of meaning and fulfillment, a spiritual or emotional rest deficit may be to blame. Understanding which type of rest you are deficient in is critical to correcting this imbalance.
If your job is mentally draining but physically undemanding, physical rest will fail to leave you feeling rested. Mental rest is what’s required to bring your mental reservoir back to a healthy level. If you spend most of your day staring at a bright computer screen or hearing constant noise, your body will need sensory rest to feel renewed. If your circumstances cause you to struggle with faith and the meaning of life, your soul will desire spiritual rest to return to a place of peaceful contentment. For every depleting activity in your day, there is a counter reviving activity to balance the scales.
Take a moment identify your rest deficits. Complete the personal rest deficit assessment you’ll find here. It ’s important you take an introspective look at your current state. Doing so will allow you to see immediately which types of rest you need to focus on getting and which types you already excel at obtaining. [LINK: http://www.RestQuiz.com]
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