chillin in the hammock

Rest is a good thing

Do you ever have trouble falling asleep at night because your brain just won’t turn off?

I certainly do. 

God has created us as creatures who need rest. Our bodies will literally shut down if we do not sleep. Our emotions and our mental health will suffer if we work 7 days a week, 15 hours a day, never taking a break, never resting. 

Yet it is a constant temptation to stay busy! To take our job responsibilities home with us. To obsess about our kids, our spouses, our relationships. Despite God’s truth that worry will never add a single hour to our lives, we still worry. We fret. We pack our schedules to fit everything in, neglecting to pause and rest.

At least… I certainly do. 

Let us remind ourselves today that God does not mess up. It was not a flaw in His design that human beings need rest. Rest is not his “plan B” for responding to the Fall. Because God has made us to need rest – physical, emotional, and mental rest – we can trust that rest is a good thing. 

How do we rest? With sleep, leisure, fun, and Sabbath. We rest by saying no to tasks and yes to relationships. We take time for ourselves and for the people we love. We invest in activities that refresh and rejuvenate us. 

How do you rest?


Written by Jessica Hayes
iHope Executive Director