What does rest look like?
May 4 - May 10, 2025 | Always Peachy Devotionals | Rest Week 2
I love naps. How about you?
I’ve always thought kids were funny when they fight naps and going to sleep so hard. I started loving naps when I was in college. I mean, that may have had something to do with getting an average of five hours a sleep a night. I would do fine until I got to Thursday, and then I had to crash in the afternoon if I wanted to survive through the weekend.
Fast forward 20 years, and I don’t know how I managed that. Looking back on how I pushed myself relentlessly in my younger years, I’m not sure how I was functional. Maybe I wasn’t as functional as I thought I was?
But see, I also believe that if God has given us abilities and talents, we need to use them for His glory. We need to be invested in God’s Kingdom. We need to work to support the church and God’s people and live like Jesus among people who don’t know Him yet. And when you have a family or a job or are taking a full class load at college, how can you juggle all of The Things and still be healthy? How can you do all of it and still rest?
Well, for one, you can’t do it all. You have to choose a few things and do them well rather than doing all The Things poorly. But there are seasons of life that are busier than others. Sometimes you don’t have the option to choose a less packed schedule, especially if you are in a life stage with small children or kids who are involved in lots of activities or even in a season of caregiving. You can’t just stop doing what you’re doing.
What I love about following Jesus is that He makes it possible to do what God asks us to do no matter what season we are in. The concept of rest doesn’t look the same to every person in every season. Sometimes we have to rest the only way we can.
This week, we are going to look at five strategies God reveals in Scripture to lead us into a mindset of rest even if we can’t stop running.
Monday - Return (Isaiah 30:15)
Tuesday - Refuge (Psalm 62:5-8)
Wednesday - Retreat (Mark 1:35)
Thursday - Repent (Psalm 32:5-7)
Friday - Rely (Isaiah 58:11)
This week’s memory verse is a little bit different, but hang with me. We’re looking at Habakkuk 3:16.
Not exactly encouraging is it? This verse is talking about the prophet being afraid. How is that connected to rest?
If we had more time, we could talk about the deeper context of what the prophet Habakkuk is saying. I encourage you to read the book of Habakkuk yourself. It’s short, only three chapters, and it’s beautiful. But for the moment, this verse is him acknowledging that God is good, that He has always rescued His people, and that He won’t let their enemies go unpunished.
Habakkuk’s world was a scary place, teetering on the edge of God’s judgment. But because He remembered who God is and what God had done for His people, he could wait quietly. He could rest peacefully, knowing that God would take care of him, even when he didn’t know how to take care of himself.
Rest isn’t sleep. Rest isn’t sitting and staring at a wall and doing nothing. Rest isn’t abandoning your responsibilities. Rest is finding peace in God in spite of the chaos of life.
So how do we do that? Let’s talk about it.
Praying for you all this week.
Amy
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