To glorify God and serve others, we are called to faithful work. Yet, God also invites us to rest, trusting in his provision for our daily bread. When we're already tempted to overwork (and burnout) or entertainment (and laziness), we can find justification for nearly any decision. What does it mean for God to give us both rest and work?
To glorify God and serve others, we are called to faithful work. Yet, God also invites us to rest, trusting in his provision for our daily bread. When we're already tempted to overwork (and burnout) or entertainment (and laziness), we can find justification for nearly any decision. What does it mean for God to give us both rest and work?
To joyfully embrace both God-honoring work and restorative rest as integrated rhythms of a flourishing Christian life, as we find freedom from both frantic self-reliance and dulling escapism.
I asked a friend if he could pray for me: "I'm feeling really tired," I said. He asked what was going on.
I unloaded on him. "Well, I just finished my second year of the M.Div. degree at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. It was a full load of courses. Plus, I served as the team leader for my organization's campus ministries at Harvard, the primary staff for one of the groups, and discipled many students. I started and led a justice-oriented spring break trip to the Bronx. I led a multi-day Veritas Forum that involved all the major graduate and undergraduate campus ministries. Then there was the fundraising to support my part-time salary. I lived in an economically deprived neighborhood and participated in both my neighborhood church and my primary church near campus. I've tried to find time to hang out with my friends. And..."
My friend gently motioned for me to pause. "Carson, I feel tired just listening to you. Of course, you're exhausted. You've been doing too much."
Suddenly, it made sense.
But when I was in the middle of it, I couldn't see how overwhelmed I had become.
My internal monologue had learned to shut down any complaints. "Do it for the Lord." "This is what the Bible says." "People are depending on me." "God, give me strength."
But was I doing all of this for the Lord? Or did I feel a need to justify my existence and build my ministry career?
We live in a society that glorifies relentless productivity, hustle culture, and busyness. In a viral TikTok video, the entrepreneur Ed Mylett says,
"My day is 6 AM to noon, and I'm not crazy, you're crazy for thinking that it takes 24 hours just like some dude in a cave did 300 years ago. My second day starts at noon and goes till 6pm. That's day 2. And then the next day is 6 pm to midnight. What I have done now is I have changed and manipulated time. I now get 21 days a week."
At the same time, self-care is valued more than ever. Whether it's an indulgent escape, a drink or a drug, or a mind-numbing scroll through social media, we're constantly overstimulated and yet uncomfortably empty.
When we work hard, we can feel guilty for not trusting the Lord, neglecting our family, or letting our health decline. But if we take it easy, we can be ashamed of how we've squandered our time. Taking a break can feel selfish, but meeting endless demands can empty our souls.
Either way, we're left numb, restless, and exhausted. So we watch YouTube videos until we collapse into bed, then power through the next day with another shot of espresso.
Dr. Michael LeFebvre, in his insightful study of Genesis, shows us that, "The Lord's work on the six days is a model for humanity's ongoing stewardship of his world. The second major focus is rest, which is introduced with the seventh day" (The Liturgy of Creation, 137).
Then Adam, who is made in God's image, is placed in the Garden of Eden "to work it and watch over it" (Genesis 2:15, CSB). We see that God intended humans to find their purpose, in part, through work.
From Genesis to Revelation, our Triune God is at work, creates us to work, calls us to work, and empowers us to do all our work with a heartfelt desire to honor God. Work is one of the primary environments in which we love our neighbors, experience purpose, and make a tangible difference.
But God's good design for work is under constant assault. Instead of work being a noble function, it can easily become our identity.
Just as work was instituted before the Fall, so too was rest. After six days of creative activity, we read, "On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation" (Genesis 2:2-3).
God didn't rest because he was tired, but because he wanted to model and confirm a blessing for us.
This blessing becomes one of the easiest commands in all of the Bible, listed as the fourth of the ten commandments: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God."
This command reveals the heart of a gracious and just God, who requires his beloved people to order their economy so that everyone, from landowners to servants to immigrants, and even livestock, may rest one day a week. God wants us to take time off!
We see this principle clarified when Jesus teaches, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).
When we start from our own perspective, we're engaged in an endless tug of war between the demands of work and the allure of rest. But what if we didn't have to bounce between frantic activity and frenetic escape?
The good news is that as disciples of Jesus, God invites us to consider life from his point of view!
Instead of trying to solve the problem of work and rest as individuals, we ask bigger questions:
Do we trust God to provide for us?
Are we embedded in communities where neighbors love one another or exploit each other?
As believers, do we meet each other's needs?
In light of God's grace, Christians start from rest. When our fundamental identity is secure in Christ, when we know we are beloved and accepted apart from our achievements, our work is liberated from the burden of self-justification.
As Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me" (John 15:5). When we are nurtured by the life of God, then fruitfulness is the natural consequence.
Rest is not intended as an escape from work, but an opportunity to pursue renewal in God's presence. The life-giving rhythm comes when God's refreshment energizes meaningful work, and satisfying work makes our rest sweet.
Take a moment to reflect on Jean Charlot's lithograph "Work and Rest", viewable at https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/work-and-rest-4665
Born in France, Charlot took a particular interest in Mexican culture, art, and language. This piece depicts the dignity of a mom preparing a meal for her family, as her rhythmic preparation of tortillas rocks her baby to sleep.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness... So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation.
Study God as a worker. How does God work? What would it look like for you to work like God?
Study God's rest. How does God rest? What would it look like for you to experience God's Sabbath rest as a gift? (See also Hebrews 4:8-11).
How does God describe the work given to Adam and Eve?
What do we learn from the blessings that God announces?
Father, grant me diligence and joy in the work you have given to me. Free me from the anxiety of proving myself and the fear of not having enough. Help me to serve you and others with a whole heart, using the gifts you have entrusted to me for your glory.
Jesus, thank you for your invitation to come and find rest. I am weary and burdened! Help me to learn from your gentle and humble heart. I need your renewal. I want to live life with your easy yoke.
Holy Spirit, guide me to establish rhythms of work and rest that make me and others whole. Give me wisdom when to go above and beyond, and when to trust you enough to stop laboring. Whether I work or rest, help me to walk in step with you.
Share about a time you felt guilty for working or resting or both! What helped, or what do you think might help, break that cycle?
Do you feel more tempted to find your identity in work, or to escape from work?
Instead of trying to solve these problems as individuals, how can our community enable better rhythms of life?
How does finding your identity in Christ protect you from defining yourself by your accomplishments, cravings, or experiences?
How have you seen too much work or too much rest affect your love for God?
What about our fallen society makes it hard to experience work as a gift from God?
What about your circumstances can you change, and what do you need from God to be faithful in the areas you can't control?
Mind: Write down one way God wants to bless you in either work or rest.
Heart: What emotions predominate when you think about work and rest? Journal to explore the feelings that arise, and what they might be trying to tell you.
Body: What's one escapist habit you can replace with a refreshing habit?
Community: Share with a trusted Christian friend or your small group where you need support.
What's one way you can set better boundaries in your weekly schedule?
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