Learning to Rest is a Skill

You shall rest. - Exodus 34:21

When you get right down to it, God actually commands us to rest. Apparently, our bodies growing tired and our minds growing weary and our emotions growing scattered was not enough to convince us that we need to rest. So God puts it out there real plain, real simple: You shall rest (Ex 34:21).

So let’s break it down. There are at least two parts to rest. As one pastor puts it:

Learning to rest is a skill. It is also an act of faith rooted in the belief that God is at work when you are not. - Essau McCauley, Reading While Black

There’s skill. That means we learn a breathing technique or have an accountability partner to text when it’s time for bed or we put post-it note on our bathroom mirror with wise words about releasing anxiety, etc. There are things we can actually learn. What is one thing you are learning about rest these days? (and it might be this: That I need to learn about rest!)

Then there’s faith. They say that the Hebrew day starts at sundown because it’s an invitation to trust that God is at work when we go to bed. It’s hard to trust that God has got this world in hand when it seems so out of control. So what might it look like to do some surrendering, some trusting, and to have faith that God is still God so you can cease your labor and rest?