Confession: I am a list keeper. I make lists at the start of the day, and throughout the day I check off the items one by one. I tend not to stop until everything is finished on the list. I guess I see rest as the reward for finishing all my tasks. The problem is, rarely is everything completed at the end of the day.
We all struggle with taking the time to rest as evidenced by the high numbers of people treated for stress-related illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, depression, and anxiety. In fact, an estimated 75% of doctor’s visits are for such stress related illnesses. A Gallup Poll revealed that 40% of adults get less than the recommended amount of sleep each night.[1]
Doctors encourage us to rest from our work and get a solid eight hours of sleep. They offer many suggestions on how to relax our body and mind. They encourage healthy habits that keep our bodies and minds strong. These are all good things. We should rest our bodies and take care of them. After all, God created us, and we should steward the gift of our bodies and health well. But there are other reasons we should rest. In fact, God’s Word shows us that rest is a good thing...To read the rest of this post, visit Servant's of Grace.
