God’s greatest gift to us was Jesus’s death on the cross to pay for our sins and restore our relationship with God. This one gift would have been enough, but He has given us so many other amazing and undeserved gifts each and every day. I might argue that one of the greatest gifts right after Jesus’s sacrifice is the Wonder of the Gift of Rest.

Scientific research has shown the incredible importance that sleep and rest have for our bodies, our minds, and our overall health. Which once again demonstrates that science confirms what our Creator has said all along. He designed rest for us. It is His gift to us and something He knows we need.

We see this gift of rest come up in the very beginning when Genesis 2:2-3 tells us that God rested on the seventh day after creating the world and everything in it, and blessed that day and made it holy, or set it apart. Then in Exodus 20 when God was giving the recently delivered Israelites some important commands on how to be a new nation of His holy people, he told them to “Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.” He reinforced this in several other places in the Books of the Law and gave reminders of it’s importance through the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah as well.

Somehow though, over the next few centuries this had become a burden for the people. It had gone from a command from God to take a day to rest and be blessed by spending time with Him to a detailed regulation and restrictions that had to be carefully followed. This law of blessing had become a rule of burden. This is not what God intended and we see that in the words of Jesus in Mark 2:27-28:

Part of being able to Discern Wonder includes being able to discern what we need. We won’t have the capacity to discern the wonder around us or lead others to if we aren’t taking care of ourselves. As leaders in church, ministries, homes, and businesses, we have to begin by leading ourselves. We can’t lead others well if we’re not leading ourselves. Part of learning to lead yourself well means using discernment to determine what it is that you need.

Being able to discern what you need starts with knowing where you are in your relationship with God. How is that relationship? What do you need there? Do you need to spend more time with Him? Do you need to spend more time in the Word or more time in prayer? What does that look like for where you are in your relationship with God? What is he telling you in that area of your life?

Beyond that, we also need discernment in our rest. One of God’s commands is for us to take a Sabbath rest. While we find that in the Old Testament and some may say that is a part of the Law and we are no longer bound to it, we also see that Jesus frequently spoke about the Sabbath as well. In fact, He said that the Sabbath is for man and not man for the Sabbath. It’s not about following a legalistic view of Sabbath that restricts and binds us, but more about the fact that we need rest and time with God. Even modern scientific research backs up the fact that we need rest. If you’ve ever had a few sleepless nights, that fact becomes obvious. So we need to use discernment to figure out what we might need to do to help us rest well so that we can be recharged and ready to lead ourselves and others well.

Another area that we need to use some discernment in involves our time. How are you managing your time? Are you using discernment there? Are you spending too much time on work or too little? What about the time you spend in ministry, church, or with your family and friends? Discernment is so important in many areas of our life. When we talk about how to be discerning with our time, I go back to starting with God. Prayerfully seeking His guidance asking Him for discernment and wisdom for what and how He is directing you. I can’t help but think back to last week‘s article about the importance of dwelling with Him. The more we dwell with Him the more He gives us discernment in these areas. When we learn to hear that still, small voice speaking to us and telling us exactly what it is that we need and what it is that He has for us, we begin to see the path we need to walk to enjoy the abundant life He has promised. That definitely should be our starting place: dwelling with Him and seeking Him for our discernment.

Beyond that though, He gives us other tools to help us. The tool of wise counsel can be very helpful as we look for discernment in our time and other areas. Again, we need discernment to determine sources of wise counsel. Figuring out who to go to and who to listen to is important. I don’t know that we want to take advice in this particular area from someone who isn’t living in a way we want to follow. If someone is burned out or making poor decisions, they might not have the wisest counsel for us unless it is pitfalls to avoid.  We can look to people who are setting good examples of the way we want to live. They won’t be perfect examples, but seeking their counsel can be helpful.

There are other tools out there that can help us as well. One example is last month’s book review on Sacred Rest. There are also tools to help us take time to set or evaluate our priorities. I have gone through and helped others walk through exercises of focusing on what it is they feel called to do, how they’re using their time, and whether those priorities and their time management are aligning. This can be a very eye-opening exercise for all of us. We all go through tough seasons and have moments where we’re are living more in survival mode than anything else. During those seasons we’re doing what it takes to get us through, but if we stay in them for too long, we can easily start drifting and losing sight of our purpose and priorities. At times like that, it can be very helpful to take a step back to really think through and discern where God has us and what we are called to be doing. Taking a close look at what we’re doing and why we are doing it can help us realign with the priorities that God has for us.

If you ever find yourself in need of some reflection or tools to help you discern what it is you need, please consider using the contact page on this website to reach out for some personal coaching. I’d be happy to help walk you through some tools to help you lead yourself and others well.

Last fall, I had the immense privilege of taking a four week Sabbatical. Before the Sabbatical I might not have used the words “immense privilege” to describe it, because the work that it took to prepare for it was beyond exhausting. By the time the Sabbatical started, I definitely felt like I had earned it and needed it. To say that I was exhausted would have been an understatement.

Besides the preparation of making sure that all of my job responsibilities would be covered for the the month that I was gone, I also was making preparations to make sure that the Sabbatical time itself was intentional and productive in helping me rest, renew and refocus. One of the things that I did in preparation for the Sabbatical time was read the book that I reviewed yesterday, Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity by Saundra Dalton-Smith, M.D. I was so glad that I had stumbled across her book in a podcast shortly before my Sabbatical. It really helped me understand the different aspects of rest and how those might be best incorporated.

I already knew that just sitting at home, watching tv or reading wouldn’t be the rest that I’d need during my Sabbatical time. Reading Dr. Dalton-Smith’s book helped me incorporate many different types of rest into that time. I discovered that many things including trying new things which for me included kayaking, taking a drive to view fall colors, enjoying quiet time and times with music, spending time with friends and time alone, and so many other things all helped contribute to my restfulness and feeling renewed.

All of these things helped me feel more rested, but I also took more time to just spend with God, to enjoy my relationship with Him just for the sake of our relationship not to study or prepare or anything else. The rest and peace that I felt from that truly enabled me to enjoy the other types of rest as well. During that time with God, I was really challenged by the idea of dwelling or abiding with Him. I know the verses well like: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5. Yet during this time, God really challenged me that I was putting other things like my to-do list and productivity ahead of actually dwelling with Him. As I explored this more, I realized just how much more restful dwelling with Him is.

If you’ve made it this far in this article, you might be thinking “That’s great and I’m glad you had this great Sabbatical, but I’ll never be able to do that.” And yes, I was fortunate enough to have that opportunity, but many of these things that I learned about rest can be implemented into life outside of Sabbaticals. I know this because more that six months after my Sabbatical, these lessons are still shaping and helping my daily life.

The reminder of the importance of dwelling with God and depending on Him instead of my obsessive to-do lists is still a valued part of my life. Am I doing it perfectly? No. Are there still days that I neglect my relationship with Him? Yes. Do I come back to dwell with Him much more quickly? Yes. Do I value that relationship and dependence on Him more? Absolutely.

The understanding of the variety of ways that I can and need to rest is also still very crucial in my day to day life. Again, I don’t do it perfectly and some days or weeks are better than others. There will always be more demanding seasons in our lives or times when it is more of a struggle to find the time for rest, but as we realize the importance of dwelling with God and resting it becomes more of a priority to seek to consistently make them part of our daily lives.
I think of the verse, Psalm 34:8, which says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” As we get a taste of the rest found in Him and that He desires for us, we will find ourselves craving it more and more. So even if you are busy, like we all are, and think you have no time to truly dwell with God or experience rest, I challenge you today to start where you are and carve out a few minutes or more to spend time with God, learn more about what rest you need, and start to experience His rest. If you think you have no time to carve out, then I challenge you to really take a close look at your time to see if that’s true. Can you give up some time on social media, or watching tv, or playing games? Do you have a few minutes in the carpool line, in a waiting room, or could you wake up just a few minutes earlier? I have to remind myself of this at times, but trust me, whatever the sacrifice it will be well worth it.

​I first heard of the book, Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity, in a podcast featuring the author Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith. I was intrigued by what I heard from her and about the book because like so many people I had been struggling with feeling tired all the time. When someone would casually ask how I was doing, so often the first thing that would come to mind was “tired.” I felt like I tried to rest, but never felt rested. For one of the first times as I listened to this author speak, I heard someone explaining why my “resting” didn’t always leave me feeling rested.

In her book, Dr. Dalton-Smith explains that: “Much of what we consider rest fails to work because it is not restful.” She also takes time to explain the difference between sleep and rest, saying that sleep itself is not rest, but rest makes our sleep better. The book explains that many things that we think are restful, like escapism, are actually not helping us rest in a way that helps us recover and renew our energy. She approaches this extensive look at rest from both her medical and faith backgrounds giving a well-rounded, well-researched point of view.

Thankfully, the author doesn’t just explain what we are doing wrong when it comes to rest, but the majority of the book explains what is needed for true rest. She says that “The most effective rest occurs when we are purposefully reviving the parts of our life we regularly deplete.” Dr. Dalton-Smith goes on to explain that there are seven different areas where we need rest: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social, sensory, and creative. As we deplete ourselves in each of these areas, we need to rest in ways that help us recover and replete those specific areas. If our senses are exhausted from the noise and other inputs of life, then sitting down to watch tv or a movie for a few hours isn’t going to help us rest and feel renewed. The same idea is true for each of the seven areas. Different types of exhaustion, need different types of rest.

Dr. Dalton-Smith not only shares about these seven areas of needed rest, but she gives very practical ideas on how to rest in ways that can renew us in each of those areas. In case we weren’t already convinced, she goes on to share a dozen different gifts that rest gives us: from freedom and acceptance to permission, productivity, and choice.

All of these ideas were like a breath of fresh air to me, and might be to you as well. Dr. Dalton-Smith asks a question with a powerful suggestion , “What steals your rest? Answering this question helps reveal the benefits of having boundaries and the gift we have in setting boundaries within our lives.” Recognizing the specific things that steal our rest and even more importantly the areas where our rest has been depleted, helps us determine the kind of rest we really need.

This book includes a Personal Rest Deficit Assessment and also a link to her free 7 Types of Rest Quiz. In this online quiz, you can determine the areas where you are most in need of rest. When I took this quiz it was simultaneously eye-opening and also very affirming of what I was feeling. After taking the quiz I spent about a month trying to implement some the types of rest that were suggested in the book. After that month, I retook the quiz and saw improvement in most of the areas.

If you are struggling with constantly feeling tired and exhausted, and feeling like nothing you do makes it better, then I’d highly encourage you to take some time to check out this book. For me, it is definitely going to be a periodic re-read to remind myself of areas where I need to proactively rest and replenish. I hope it might be as helpful to you as it was to me.