by Lindsay Mast
Synopsis: Rest is an essential part of physical and spiritual rejuvenation. Therefore, let us learn to “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him. . .” (Ps. 37:7).
If you follow any running plan, you’ll find a day or two each week that most runners just hate. It’s called a rest day. They can be a major nuisance. Why would you skip a day of running when you could be out there, getting endorphins and working on getting faster or stronger?
Simply put, these days are in the plan because they matter. Yet, we wouldn’t take them if they weren’t written on the plan. Seasoned runners accept them, though often grudgingly. Yes, we want to be out chasing something, proving something, doing something that feels tangible to improve our running. Silent, powerful growth occurs at the most unexpected time: when we are still. Quietly refueling, recovering, and resting becomes just as, or more important than, the running itself.
“Off days” require a relinquishing of control that is hard for us as human runners. We can’t command how our bodies use nutrients. We can’t quantify how much our muscles are growing in the “off times.”
Yet, because we trust whoever wrote the plan to help us become more skilled, we do what we are told. We feed our hungry bodies. We stretch our tired muscles. We sleep.
As women in Western culture, we can relate to the runner, wondering if rest days are worth anything. We have that nagging feeling that we shouldn’t be resting if we are serious about our Christian race. Are we serving enough? Are we going to enough studies? Are we doing enough for our families? Rest is simply not in our vocabulary.
Rest, though, is something God took part in and wants to share with us. Why do we resist it so? It is good for us spiritually, physically, and mentally. We simply cannot go nonstop and expect to stay healthy or to maintain a good attitude. Additionally, the constant “go-go-go” means we get things done, and gives us a sense that we are far more in control of our lives than we are.
Consider those to whom God gave the initial command of Sabbath rest. They had no grocery stores, no modern farming tools, no high-tech ways to predict the weather. Their very ability to eat, provide for and protect themselves and their loved ones was pretty high-stakes: yes? So it would be pretty counter-intuitive for them to think, “Twenty-four hours of rest each week, regardless of if it might be sunny, warm, and perfect for planting, harvesting, or hunting? Makes perfect sense!”
Yet, here we sit, with our Walmart pickup orders, stocked freezers, and umpteen weather apps, acting for all the world as though the sun itself wouldn’t rise if we weren’t running and gunning to make it do so. Yet, God wants rest for us, too. He knows we need quiet: to abide in His word and in prayer. We need time to reflect on what we have done and determine what was (or wasn’t) beneficial. We need rest to recover from the simple but compounding wear and tear of living.
I urge you, runner: rest! Take a planned time and stop. Just stop! Clear the calendar of that which doesn’t nourish your soul. Prep the meals ahead of time. Bagged salad and rotisserie chicken are your friends. Take the apps (you know the ones) off your phone, temporarily (or not). For twenty-four hours, relinquish control. Pick up a book. Pick up the book. Connect with God. Connect with someone He created. While you do, trust that God is happily taking care of what you aren’t, in His time, in His way.
Then, notice how you feel afterward. Enjoy the refreshment you feel as you pick up your to-do list again and tackle it with a renewed spirit. A week later, try it again. Build the habit of rest and you will find that you are better able to flex your spiritual muscles as you go about your God-given tasks here on Earth. You’ll find the muscles of trust and humility growing as your sense of self-importance dwindles.
Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (Ps. 46:10).
