Resting Day 3
The Rested Mind

1 Timothy 1:3-7
1 Corinthians 8:1-3
Ephesians 3:19
Isaiah 11:2
1 Corinthians 2:1-5  

Have you ever gotten to the end of the week and realized that you had absolutely no down time for the past five days? I know I sure have.

Our minds are constantly running all over the place. We are constantly thinking about conversations, information, and to-do lists, and this can leave us feeling utterly bombarded, overwhelmed, and in desperate need of mental rest.

How much time have you spent to allow yourself to mentally rest in the past week – to be completely free of thought and attaining a peaceful, restful mind? I know that for me that seems completely foreign.

There are so many things in the world distracting us,
keeping us constantly occupied,
and in the end they often end up stealing something we need the most.
Rest.

My mom likes to joke with me and call me a “yes girl”, and she isn’t entirely wrong.
If someone asks me to volunteer, I say yes.
If someone asks me for a favor, I say yes.
If someone needs help with just about anything, I say yes.

Saying no is hard for me, because whenever I say no I feel as though I am letting someone down. I don’t like the feeling of knowing that someone needs my help and I’m not available.

At one point in my life, when my schedule was ridiculously over-packed, I realized that though I had good intentions, I wasn’t giving enough time to the Lord. I wasn’t getting enough rest, and because of those things I was not able to function at full capacity.

Almost every person I know would describe their lives as “busy” or “overwhelming”.
Is that you?
Maybe you have children to take care of, a job to get to, schoolwork to finish, or all of the above combined. The list goes on and on!

I won’t lie; I still struggle with making my schedule too busy and putting too much on my plate.
But scheduling time for “nothing”, for allowing space for the Savior to speak, to do things I enjoy, re-energizes me and re-fuels me with clear purpose.

When I read about Jesus in the Bible, I frequently notice that
Jesus was never in a rush,
He was never too busy to give someone his complete attention, and
He rested often.

I don’t know about you, but I sure want to be like that!
If we are not rested, filling our time with too much, we will never be able to live the “Jesus life” the way God intended. He called us out of the chaos of busy to be renewed by His Word and dwell on the balanced, well-paced life that Jesus lived.

How exactly can we do this? How can we set a pace like Jesus’s?
The best way I can think of is to constantly meditate on the Word of God,
and not just know it but live it out.

Having knowledge about the Bible is magnificent, however, as Ephesians 3:19 states,
“Love surpasses knowledge.”

If you know everything there is to know about the Bible,
but you don’t live it out,
allowed it to overtake your stuff,
given Jesus control of all the “busyness”,
what good does it do?

If we have persuasive words and wise teachings,
but we don’t love others as God commands,
what good does it do?

Knowledge isn’t what builds others up.
Love is.

When we take time to rest and meditate on the Word,
we are given the opportunity to catch the rhythm of how Jesus lived and loved,
and how we are commanded to do the same.

Jesus says to the weary people in Matthew 11:28-30,
“My yoke is easy and my burden is light”.
Jesus tells all who are weary and burdened to come to Him for rest.
This is a call to discipleship and an invitation to rest!

We must not feel guilty when we allow ourselves to rest, physically, spiritually, and mentally. Rest is Christ-like!

Allow your mind to cease its strivings, to find a regular rhythm of rest, and to remember the Lord’s promises, giving Him reign to re-energize us for His work.

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