Finding Rest

Presented by Julie Busteed

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “work-life balance”. When I hear it, I picture a seesaw, constantly trying to stay perfectly balanced. But if you’ve ever been on a seesaw, you know that’s not easy. There are always ups and downs.

I’m not convinced that “balance” is the right goal. I think God calls us to something different—to healthy rhythms. Life has seasons. Some seasons are naturally busier than others, but how do we live out those seasons without always feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and out of sync?

The truth is, you and I were never created to live at full throttle all the time. We were created to regularly rest. We were created to practice Sabbath. But what does that really mean? And what does it look like in our lives today?

Going back to the very beginning of Scripture, we see that God himself established the pattern. Genesis 2:3 says: Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Think about that. God didn’t rest because he was tired. He rested because he was establishing a rhythm for his creation. A rhythm you and I are meant to follow.

The Ten Commandments also references the Sabbath. Exodus 20 says: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…. God points back to creation as the reason. Just as he worked for six days and rested on the seventh, he calls us to do the same.

Now, Sabbath certainly includes worship but notice that God also repeatedly emphasizes rest. He tells his people to stop working. To cease striving and to follow his example.

And perhaps even more importantly, I think we need to change our mindset. Instead of thinking, “I have to take a day off,” what if we saw Sabbath as a weekly declaration that God is enough? It’s a way of saying, “God, you’re in control. The world keeps turning even when I stop working. I trust you to provide. I trust you with what didn’t finish today.”

Sabbath isn’t primarily about following another rule. It’s about nurturing our relationship with God. It’s about trusting him enough to stop, worship, rest, and remember that he is the one who sustains our lives.