{"id":1145,"date":"2025-08-01T00:00:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T05:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/?p=1145"},"modified":"2025-07-31T10:20:43","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T15:20:43","slug":"rejoicing-from-a-place-of-rest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/rejoicing-from-a-place-of-rest\/","title":{"rendered":"Rejoicing from a Place of Rest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Think of a time when you felt really, really tired. The alarm went off in the morning, and although your mind was instantly filled with dozens of things you needed to do, all you wanted was to sleep the rest of the day. But more sleep didn\u2019t shake the feeling. The tiredness went deeper. It seemed to reach your soul – draining your motivation. Or your mind – making it hard to focus.<\/p>\n

Maybe you feel some version of this now. It\u2019s so common for those in ministry.<\/p>\n

From this place, it is nearly impossible to rejoice. It\u2019s much easier to feel frustrated and complain. It can even feel like we\u2019ve lost the passion we once had for God – lost our first love (Revelation 2:4).<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s completely normal. The Bible makes it clear that rest is essential. In fact, when God gave the law to the Israelites, rest made it into the top ten, right up there with \u2018don\u2019t murder\u2019 and \u2018don\u2019t steal\u2019 (Exodus 20:8-11). We were created to rest daily through sleep and weekly through Sabbath.<\/p>\n

In many cultures, rest is not valued. Instead, it\u2019s associated with weakness, lack of ambition, self-indulgence, or laziness. Not things we want to sign up for! But God says that it\u2019s His gift to the ones He loves – a gift we need to accept in order to thrive (Psalm 127:2).<\/p>\n

Jesus modeled this for us. After a season of intense ministry, He invited His disciples to come away and rest (Mark 6:31). He also regularly stepped away from the crowds to be alone with God (Luke 5:16). And He valued unrushed time around meals with His friends and followers (Luke 7:36, Matthew 26:20, John 21:12).<\/p>\n

Even God rested after creating the world. He stopped His work, looked at what He had made, and rejoiced (Genesis 1:31). There are many cultural pressures to stay busy. But we too need moments when we can step away from our work and reflect on all that God has done. We need times when we come before
\nGod and allow Him to refresh our souls and spirits. We need downtime with friends and family to laugh and relax. And we need sleep to restore our bodies.<\/p>\n

In summary, God:<\/p>\n

Created<\/strong> us to need rest,
\nCommands<\/strong> us to rest,
\nGives<\/strong> us rest as a gift, and
\nModels<\/strong> rest in His own life and ministry.<\/p>\n

And we are our best selves when we make rest a regular part of our lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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