Episode #24 How to Rest Well When You’re Working Hard – Rest More Resolution

Hey friend, are you feeling burnt out right now? Or have you ever struggled to find that balance between work and rest? If so, you are not alone. And in this episode, we're going to be exploring tips and questions to help you identify the unique and personal way that God is inviting you to steward your current season.

Today I'm doing something that I don't do often here on the podcast and I'm putting on my coaching hat just for a few minutes. In addition to being a Bible teacher, I'm also a ministry coach.

And I love coming alongside leaders to help them steward their leadership and their ministries. And a big piece of being a good coach is asking questions. Knowing what it looks like to rest well and work hard in your season is a conversation that you're going to want to have with God on a regular basis. That's definitely not something that I can answer for you. And in fact, that's our question for today's episode, because the season, the assignment, and the expression of that is going to be unique and personal for each of us.

So, before we get there, I have a few quick tips for you to consider to then bring into your conversation with God to hear what he would have to say to you.

As I run through these questions, you can let your mind wander through your answers or you may want to pause and play the podcast episode to process each one.

You may even want to use those journaling pages that are available with this podcast as a free download.

Do whatever works best for you to aid your conversations with God. Ready to get started? Okay.

First off, when you think about working hard, what has God asked you to do?

What details has God given you already vs. what you've filled in yourself? Are there areas of execution that you may want to go back and ask God to clarify?

Now, this question was helpful for me. Because I like to run ahead and it's easy for me to get excited about a new project or a new opportunity and fill in the blanks myself without talking with God that much about it.

Next, consider the pace that you're currently working at. How long are you planning to keep that up? And how rested or exhausted are you? Are you energized and invigorated by your work or are you nearing burnout?

Sometimes we can sprint and it's good for the season, but a sprint is never meant to be long term. And that goes right into the next question.

What has rest looked like for you in recent days or weeks? Is that approach to work and rest costing you too much?

Sometimes that pace might be worthwhile. Other times it may not be.

And then finally, why are you approaching things this way? Are there places that you've been motivated or felt pressure in unhealthy ways? Is work, or stress about work, interrupting how you rest?

In light of this conversation, I want to turn our attention to Psalm 3. The heading of the psalm in my Bible, which is the ESV version, is "Save Me, O my God." This is a Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom, who was trying to steal the kingdom from him.

So, David isn't really talking about work and rest here. The stakes are actually much higher. He's talking about survival and rest, and I'll read verses 1­-5:

"O Lord, how many are my foes!

Many are rising against me;

many are saying of my soul,

'There is no salvation for him in God.'

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,

my glory, and the lifter of my head.

I cried aloud to the Lord,

and he answered me from his holy hill.

I lay down and slept;

I woke again, for the Lord sustained me."

This isn't a heavy workload or a demanding task list that's plaguing David, as can sometimes happen for me. He literally fled for his life and he cried out to the Lord for rescue. Then he laid down and slept and God sustained him. I love considering this verse in light of the topic of rhythms of work and rest and how to both rest well and work well because of the trust that David placed in God.

I'm going to read one more passage of scripture, and this is from Psalm 127, which is a Song of Solomon, one of David's other sons, and this song is titled, "Unless The Lord Builds the House," and I'll read verses 1 & 2.

"Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

for he gives to his beloved sleep."

Now, obviously all work isn't in vain. God instructs us not to be idle and to work at whatever we do as unto the Lord, and he gifts and he calls us to participate in his work in the world. But anxious work that keeps us from rest, work that relies too heavily on our own efforts or can prevent us from drawing near to God because we're so busy at our own toil.

That's not the plan that God has for us.

God also builds. God also watches over, and the one who never sleeps, he gives rest to us. So take a few minutes as our episode ends to invite God to continue this conversation with you. Talk with him about the things that you've already noticed in your work and your rest habits, and any items that you've been encouraged by, or maybe things you already see can change.

Ask him questions all the way along, including this one:

God, what does it look like for me to work hard and rest well in this season?

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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