Prefer a podcast? Click here to listen to the podcast version of this message.
Transcript:
Hello, welcome to Walking in Step with God. I’m Steve McDonald. Today we explore the topic “Discover God’s Rest in a Busy Life” as the second installment in our series “Faith in the Grind”. We hope you are enjoying this series thus far. Many of us live a lifestyle where we are always busy with work or studies. In this series, we are going to do our best to explore the idea that while work and studies are important, our faith is the most important thing. Thankfully, we can always find ways to live out our faith, not only in our work or the diligence of our studies, but in all the areas of our lives.
Today, I would like to explore the idea of finding God’s rest in life, regardless of how busy we are. When we are in the world and get caught up in the busyness of things, it can be very easy to become consumed with the stressors and challenges that take place each day. We can even become overwhelmed to where it begins to have a negative effect on our health. In the midst of striving and pushing through our work, we can become susceptible to poor eating habits, lack of sleep, diminished communication with our community, and even less focus on our faith.
Let’s discuss ways that we can find God’s rest, even amidst the hustle and bustle of our work. In doing so, we can aim to have an improved work-life balance and never take our eye off of the importance of prioritizing our faith and our walk with God.
Before we get started, if you are watching on YouTube, I would appreciate it if you could click that like button and subscribe. I also invite you to share your comments throughout this program. Your engagement truly helps us share God’s word with more viewers. If you are listening to our podcast, please be sure to follow us and leave a rating for this episode. Your positive feedback helps us reach more hearts seeking spiritual nourishment.
By the way, if the message you hear today resonates with your heart, and you feel led to partner with us in this ministry, we invite you to prayerfully consider becoming a financial supporter. Your partnership, through your faithful contributions, helps us continue to create resources like this message, reaching more people with the life-changing power of God’s love and truth.
Here are instructions on how you can help. I’ll be right back.
Welcome back. Let’s pick up our discussion of ways to find God’s rest in our busy lives.
Rest the Body and Mind
The first option I would like to discuss today to find God’s rest is by ensuring that we give our body and mind rest. I admit, I struggle with this very issue myself, – even with this ministry. Often, when I wake in the middle of the night and I am blessed with ideas and guidance from God, I am eager to get up and dive right in. I have learned, time and time again, that depriving the body and mind of sleep -will- catch up to you. I have personally learned that if I do decide to get up at 2-3 am because I am excited about serving God, my mind will remind me later in the day of the lack of sleep. I will become a bit foggy and find it difficult to concentrate on the very work the Lord put on my heart to do.
We must be sure to practice good sleep hygiene and also incorporate rest and relaxation into our lifestyles. Each person has their own idea of what it means to have rest. For some it might be for a walk in nature. For others, it may be curling up with a good book. It might be watching a movie on TV or listening to calm and relaxing music. Whatever your method is to rest your body and mind, be sure to make it a consistent part of your lifestyle. Just because you can work 10-12 hours a day and 7 days a week doesn’t mean that you should. Give yourself a proper day of rest and relaxation during the week and ensure you have adequate time before and after your work each day to find calm and rest.
Don’t Worry
The second suggestion I have for you to find God’s rest consists of two words. “Don’t Worry”. Are you worried about something in your life right now? In particular, are you worried about something in your work? Are you concerned about a project or task? Perhaps you are worried about saying the right thing to your boss at an upcoming meeting. Are you worried about a deadline for an assignment? Perhaps, you are in school and worried about an exam next week and if you will perform well. Worry can cause stress and lack of rest. Worry can keep us up at night or cause us to work longer hours than is truly necessary.
Worry is for the world. The world works in ways that do not rely upon our heavenly Father and therefore, the world is subject to worry due to the sheer randomness that can occur in day to day living. When we place our trust in God, we need not worry.
I am not suggesting there are never concerns in our lives, but we can live our lives in such a way that we are in partnership with God, expressing concerns that surface in our lives to Him. When we offer our concerns to God, we can trust in Him to provide guidance, direction, and wisdom. When we partner with God with any concerns in our work, there is no need to worry, because we can trust Him with the outcomes, whatever they may be. Worried about an upcoming exam? Express your concerns to God and ask Him to guide your preparation and studies – then, don’t worry. Worried about an upcoming presentation at work? Express your concerns to God and ask Him to give you divine wisdom as to what to focus on in your presentation and how to present it.
In both of these examples, we learn that we can have concerns, but placing our trust in God means there is no need to worry.
Yield to His Will
The last item I would like to touch on today to find God’s rest in your busy life is to yield to His will. I believe that one reason we can find ourselves without rest is because we feed the need to have complete control over our lives.
In truth, God and only God knows what is best for us. We can pursue our goals and dreams in our work and even our education, but God knows what is best. God does want us to have goals and ambitions, but if we bring these goals to Him and posture ourselves to yield to His will for our lives, we will find ourselves living out a life that is calibrated to God’s best plans for us.
God knows the gifts that are planted within each of us. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. He knows the plans that would be ideal for us and our lives but He is also willing to work with the paths we create for ourselves with our own free will.
When we venture through life with an idea that we must be in full control, we may find success or we may find failure. When we release control of our lives to God, knowing that He knows best, we can find ourselves living a life that is closely aligned with what He knows is best for us. This life may not be precisely what we have in mind, but gives us an opportunity to tap into a level of peace and rest and even joy that only comes from serving God and yielding to His will.
Wrap Up
In today’s message, we explored 3 approaches to finding God’s rest in our busy lives. We discussed the importance of actual rest for our mind and body. This includes prioritizing good sleep hygiene, ensuring we have a full night’s sleep every day of the week, and taking breaks throughout the day of a busy work day. Proper rest of mind and body means resisting the urge to work 7 days a week. We learned how important it can be to not worry about our circumstances. Worry is not the same as concern. We can certainly have concerns, but let us bring our concerns before God, trusting He will guide us. When we place our trust in Him, we need not worry. Lastly, we explored the importance of yielding to God’s will. Part of the reason we can find ourselves without rest is from our own striving and pushing through our own goals and plans. If these goals and plans are not aligned with God’s will for our lives, we may find ourselves spinning our wheels for things that are not ideal for us. God, on the other hand, knows the gifts He has planted in us. He knows the plans that will make the best use of these gifts. If we place our trust in Him and seek to yield to His will for our lives (even as we express to Him our goals and dreams), we can experience a far more fulfilling life— – one that includes rest, peace, and joy.
Don’t allow the busyness of life to pull you away from God’s rest. It is very easy to become convinced of the idea that we must remain busy to be productive and that rest and faith are secondary. The truth is, God desires for us to be healthy and prosperous, – and this must include rest. We can find God’s rest by placing our trust in Him and allowing Him to guide and order our steps in how we carry out our lives day to day.
Are you interested in discovering more about the guidance offered in this message? Learn more in the companion article Going Deeper with the Word: Discover God’s Rest in a Busy Life
