When Rest is not Restful
The Facades of Recovery and Distraction
Oftentimes my rest is not restful. That’s because it’s not rest—it’s usually either recovery or distraction masquerading as rest. Personally, I’m prone to see rest as either a luxury to be enjoyed when the work is finished or as a mindless unplugging from my looming responsibilities. Neither of these will do. The trouble is that when I think these facades will bring rest, I feel it. And I don’t mean I feel the rest—I feel the lack of it. Recovery and distraction are placebos that do not provide the rest God made me for. And therefore, here I am trying to wrestle my life into a place where I can truly rest in Christ.
Maybe I’m not alone. In fact, I think I’m safe to assume that in our hyper-driven, work-idolizing, social-media-saturated, content-curated, and affirmation-craving society we have an issue with rest. I know I do.
Recovery Is Not Rest
I should rest from my work, not because of it. Too often throughout my life I would not let my mind or body rest. I would push myself until my body would force me to stop. Or I would go on a long awaited vacation only to get sick while there. This was not rest, it was recovery. And had you talked to me in those seasons of life I would have moralized my exhaustion as evidence for “giving my all” and “running the race.” While the heart in that may be admirable, I was utterly misguided. I had no category for Matthew 11:28 where Jesus said “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” My mantra was “Keep going, all who labor and are heavy laden, you can rest when Christ returns.” I had no understanding of what margin was and why it was important—even necessary—to a faithful and effective life. But Christ invites us to rest now.
Had I continued down this path my life would have only been marked by repetitive burnout and chronic stress. This is not the “easy yoke” of Christ. It was the crushing burden of toil.
Distraction Is Not Rest
I should rest from my work, not be distracted from it. Another lie that our attention hungry culture fights for me to believe is that rest is really a mindless unplugging from reality. When I feel the draw to numb I have to remind myself: This is not rest, it is escapism. Because if the only respite I experience from my work is marked by excessive intake of media or over engagement with activities and substances that take my mind off of work, then I am not trying to rest—I am trying to escape.
For me, when the crushing weight of my responsibilities become too much to bear I can seek shelter in the perceived safety of instagram reels—as silly as that sounds. But those micro doses of dopamine lie that my mind is getting a positive experience. Yet, the research only shows the destructive results that come from a life of doom scrolling. The numb does just that, it numbs life. Flattens it.
This doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy movies, TV shows, or a few drinks with friends, but it does mean that I have to do the hard work of asking myself why I’m engaging in these activities. Because if I seek rest in escapism, I will not find it. What I will find is a distraction that leaves my soul more unsettled the moment I set my phone down because my “rest” is dependent upon this device. And if my life is marked by distraction I will have shallow relationships and an anxious soul.
This is not rest. It is isolating escapism.
God’s Gift of Rest
God rested from His work, I should rest from mine. He did not rest because of His work, for He has no need to recover. Nor did he allow Himself to be distracted from His work; as if He could be. On the seventh day, He stopped. He looked over creation and enjoyed what He had made. He chose to rest.
God not only rested from His work, but he commanded His people to rest. The fourth commandment in Exodus 20:8-10 states “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.”
The reason God gives for this rest is given in verse 11, “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” God commanded His people to rest because He rested. This is radical. And I have to not rush past this: It pleased God for His people to rest.
Now, that was the Old Testament and I live in the New Testament. Does this apply to me? I’m not here to give a robust defense for my position on the Sabbath. Those arguments are important and worth studying. In short, I believe that Christ fulfilled the law for me and I enter into the Sabbath rest of God through the finished work of Christ. I come to Christ, believe in Him, and so enter into the Sabbath rest of God (Matthew 11:28; Hebrews 4:1–13). Now, I still obey the fourth commandment, but do so through my faith in Christ and worship of Him. As a result my soul can experience true rest—the peace of God that is mine in Christ.
My Rest As Worship
Yet, this Sabbath rest I have in Christ is not an excuse to toil my life away. Again, rest was important enough to God that there was one day a week in which all of Israel rested from their work. Yes, I fulfill the letter of the law in Christ, but God gave the law for our flourishing! This means that the spirit of the fourth commandment is still for my good. And I have learned to see the gift that this day of rest is for me and my family.
This means that I have to exercise the Spirit-brought fruit of self-control to say to myself “Stop.” Is there still work to be done? Of course. But when I choose to stop and rest from my work rather than because of my work I am combating the temptation to idolize work, success, or money. God made me to work, yes. But He did not make me to toil my life away. In fact, my work will be more effective because I am laboring from a place of rest rather than exhaustion. Restful work is far more powerful than restless toil.
Therefore, I must truly engage in rest, not distraction. Mindless consumption is not honoring the Lord nor is it productive in giving us the rest that we so desperately need. So, instead of picking up my phone, maybe I ought to try and slow down to sit and listen to the birds. Maybe you’re not a bird guy like me, that’s fine. I’m not trying to prescribe the specific ways in which I physically rest—which usually involves being a present Dad, reading a good book, or working with my hands—but I do want to invite you into less consumption and more quiet. I am learning that my mind does not need to be distracted to be freed from the shackles of my responsibilities. This is hard. But it is also precisely where rest becomes an act of worship.
In order for me to set my work aside—whether physically or mentally—I must give in to the idea that in God I find my rest because I was made for Him. He is what I need to find true peace. St. Augustine, circa 400 A.D, said:
“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
I need that. If I am made for God, then nothing else will bring me the rest that my soul needs. I will be restless until my soul learns to rest in Him.
When my soul learns to rest in God, then my body—and more importantly my schedule—can learn to do things that bring me rest. I can choose to stop in the midst of work needing to be done, because I know I have all I truly need in Him. I no longer strive to acquire something I don’t have that I think I need. Now, this is not an excuse to work less than what is expected of me as a good employee, but it is an act of worship to not work the night away. Sometimes the deadlines demand it, that’s ok. But often what seems urgent can wait until the morning as I leave what is unfinished into God’s hands.
I can sleep, because there is a God who does not sleep ruling over all things. When I choose to sleep in this way, my sleep becomes an act of worship!
Rest is choosing to stop. Rest is choosing to not be numbed by distraction. Rest is worship.
I don’t have this all figured out, but I’m hopeful that, by God’s grace, my 30’s will be marked by a slower pace that worships God in rhythms of rest. Life is a marathon. And the easy yoke of Christ is grounded in the rest I can find in Him. I am weary and often heavy laden—I must go to Him.
So here’s a thought I had while writing this: Why not start crafting a life with appropriate rest and then put work in where it belongs? That sounds pretty radical in our culture doesn’t it? Hear me: I want to ensure my days have moments of prayer and Bible reading and I need to prioritize worship gatherings with my church. These “ordinary” rhythms will be what reminds my soul to rest in Christ. Then, I will be primed by the Spirit of God through His Word to make time to do those things God placed on my heart to do that bring me joy. What a rebellion! This true rest directly combats the idols of work that hide behind the facades of recovery and distraction. I’m determined to fight this good fight. Would you consider joining me in this restful rebellion?
I’m going to start by sitting down and enjoying a good book. I hope you do the same.
A great reminder for me!!