{"id":44368,"date":"2025-11-03T01:25:05","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T08:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/?p=44368"},"modified":"2025-11-21T08:32:48","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T15:32:48","slug":"rest-without-quitting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/faith\/rest-without-quitting\/","title":{"rendered":"Rest Without Quitting"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

At 23, I was fresh out of college with the world at my fingertips. I\u2019d just finished student teaching, wrapped up three jobs, and was ready to thrive.<\/p>

Or so I thought.<\/p>

A few days later I sat in the ER \u2014 overwhelmed, scared and confused.<\/p>

Over the next three months I was diagnosed with more than 10 physical and mental health conditions. I took a lower-paying local teaching job in hopes of stabilizing my health, but then tried to keep up the same pace I\u2019d had before. The pressure to do more, be more, and perform perfectly didn\u2019t stop \u2014 and it ate me alive. No matter what I tried, I couldn\u2019t slow down. My anxiety skyrocketed. I couldn\u2019t breathe. Deep down I knew I needed rest \u2014 but I didn\u2019t know how to get it.<\/p>

It wasn\u2019t until several years later that I learned I wasn\u2019t alone. Adulting is stressful for anyone, but according to a recent survey by Deloitte<\/a>, 52 percent of Gen Z feel burned out and exhausted. Generational strategist Ryan Jenkins reports<\/a> that 75 percent of young adults are more worried about starting a career than finding a soulmate. Even in Christian spaces, we\u2019re conditioned to think rest is something we earn. We say we\u2019re fine. But are we really?<\/p>

Rest is God\u2019s command<\/h4>

For most of us, rest is the 11th plague. Who has time to rest? But God is clear: Rest isn\u2019t a mere suggestion; it\u2019s a command given for our own good<\/a>.<\/p>

Rest isn\u2019t quitting, but trusting. Psalm 46:10 says, \u201cBe still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth\u201d (NIV). The Hebrew word for \u201cbe still,\u201d r\u0101p\u00e2<\/em>, means to cease [from striving], let go, refrain, be quiet, or show oneself slack. It appears over 46 times in the KJV and is used in Deuteronomy 31:6<\/a> and 8<\/a>, and Joshua 1:5<\/a> to remind us not to fear because God is with us.<\/p>

The Sabbath, a day God set apart for<\/em> us, isn\u2019t a burden. Though pausing work may feel that way, the Hebrew word sab\u0101t<\/em> implies a day of rest for the heart. Obeying the Sabbath is choosing in advance to pause, submit and entrust that day to the Lord. When God rested on the seventh day, it wasn\u2019t because He was tired \u2014 God never wearies (Genesis 20:11<\/a>; Psalm 121:3-5<\/a>; Isaiah 40:28<\/a>). We do, though, so rest is God\u2019s gift to us. Since He knows perfectly what we need, rest is not optional, but essential.<\/p>

From the beginning, God called this day of rest holy<\/a> because He knew we\u2019d struggle to see it that way. Just as work is a gift<\/a>, rest is, too. When this perspective is out of balance, we all suffer. Choosing to rest isn\u2019t just counter-cultural; it\u2019s critically restorative for our society\u2019s burned-out condition.<\/p>

What it means to rest<\/h4>

God wants us to work well and<\/em> rest well. But when we praise one and ignore the other, we\u2019re not living in the freedom of Christ; we\u2019re living in slavery (1 Corinthians 6:12<\/a>, 2 Peter 2:19<\/a>).<\/p>

Abraham Lincoln said this best in his 1862 Annual Message to Congress: \u201cAs we keep or break the Sabbath day, we nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope by which man rises.\u201d<\/p>

A couple of weeks off won\u2019t solve burnout, but small, intentional shifts towards wholeness with the Lord, over time, can. Jess Connolly in \u201cTired of Being Tired\u201d describes exhaustion as spiritual, physical, mental and emotional. The opposite of exhaustion is unshakeable, ingrained rest \u2014 a rest only the Lord can give.<\/p>

Psalm 127:2 reminds us,<\/p>

“It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.” (NLT)<\/p><\/blockquote>

How many of us live this way \u2014 toiling, fretting, seemingly never stopping? I know I\u2019m raising my hand.<\/p>

Friends, God calls us to work, but also to pause, breathe and trust. Rest isn\u2019t laziness, but rather a lifestyle of surrender.<\/p>

Practical ways to pursue God\u2019s rest<\/h4>

Learning to rest doesn\u2019t happen instantly, but small, intentional steps over time can help us reconnect with God, ourselves and others. Here are a few ideas to try in the areas of mental, spiritual, emotional and physical rest.<\/p>

Mental Rest:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>