Kindly, Kayla

Hi friends!

Today I wanted to talk about how much we need rest and how we sometimes disregard that. In today’s culture, we are taught that getting or needing rest is “lazy” and that we always have to be productive. As I’m scrolling on TikTok or YouTube, all I see are “productive days in my life” or “how I stay productive routines.” And don’t get me wrong- it’s very important to make sure we are being productive and getting things done but we can’t overwork ourselves. Today’s society is so based on who can do more and how can we get more and we’re quite literally working ourselves to death.

Rest is vital and needed. It’s also Biblical. Rest is repeated all throughout scripture and it’s even mentioned at the very beginning of the Bible. Our Creator rested! After God created the heavens and the earth, He rested on the seventh day. Genesis 2 verses 2-3 say, “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.” If our vast and all-powerful and all-knowing Creator rested, surely we can find time to rest.

Now sometimes we can find ourselves trying to get rest yet still feeling exhausted and tired. We binge-watch Netflix shows and doom scroll on TikTok (literally me last night) and we question how we still feel so tired even though we’re not doing anything. It’s because we’re seeking out rest in the wrong places. Hear me out- I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with binge watching Netflix shows, I’m watching Gilmore Girls right now and it’s so good lol, but I am saying that the way to get true rest, is through our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus Christ is literally telling us to come to Him for rest. If we surrender to Him, He will literally give us rest. We just have to abide in Him. We have to surrender our worries, minds, and troubles over to Him, if we want true rest and peace in Him. It’s hard, especially for me, an overthinker, but we have to trust that God’s will and that His plan for us is the best way.

Here are some practical ways we can start implementing rest into our lives:

• Partake in the Sabbath Day. In Biblical times, it was commanded for the Israelites as a law to do no work on the seventh day of the week and to remember their deliverance from Egypt. Even though we have been freed from the law, we can still participate in choosing a day where we think about all God has done for us and rest in Him for a day.
• On the day you choose to rest, try to spend more time with Jesus throughout the day in prayer, reading his word, and worshipping.
• Make time to rest in Jesus every day by reading your word daily and talking to him in prayer. If we want to have a true relationship with Christ, we can’t just only talk to him on Sunday or Wednesday night. Think about if you only talked to your partner two days a week. What kind of relationship would that be? Communication is very vital for a true relationship.
• Don’t beat yourself up about it. Give yourself some grace. It can be hard to change your lifestyle to implement more rest when you are used to overworking yourself. Just try to add something even if you think it’s not a lot. Start small. Read a few verses when you wake up in the morning or start praying before bed. Something is better than nothing and you can build over time!

I hope this blog post was helpful in making sure we get more rest. As the college semester is coming to an end, we have to make sure that we are not getting too stressed out or overworking ourselves. It is so easy to get overwhelmed with finals coming up so soon! Thanksgiving break is right around the corner and I think implementing these things into our lives can really help us during this time.

Thank you so much for reading.

Kindly,

Kayla