Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and waves, and it was completely calm. (Matthew 8:23-26)
In our culture of “go, go, go” and “fast-paced living,” rest is sorely undervalued, but desperately needed. Time is intended to be filled with activity and productive. We go to bed late and wake up early, just to do the same thing the next day. If we get the opportunity to rest, we can often guilt ourselves out of it, by telling ourselves we should be doing something better with our time. So instead, we grab another cup of coffee or a 5-hour energy drink, so that we can manage to accomplish a few extra tasks. By the time our head does finally hit the pillow at the end of the night, we feel worn out and exhausted.
What if it’s not meant to be this way? Recently, a friend of mine was speaking about the power of rest. She spoke about the verses, included above, the familiar story in which Jesus slept on the boat. She pointed out that in Jesus’ humanity, He too needed rest. He too got tired. And He knew that rest was what His tired body needed, so He could get the refreshment and fuel necessary to keep moving forward. When our bodies are tired, a nap can do so much more for us than a third, fourth, or fifth cup of coffee. Can you imagine that even in the midst of the storm, with his disciples in a panic, Jesus did not feel guilty to take a nap? If anyone had important things to do in life, it was Jesus. Healing the sick, raising the dead, saving the world, He was a busy man. If He still thought it was important to rest, so should we. There will always be a storm in life, or someone else’s storm, that we are expected to attend to. We are so much better equipped to face the storms in life when we are well-rested.
The other thing my friend spoke of that really impacted me was that Jesus trusted His father enough to rest. Jesus knew that ultimately His Father was in control and held everything within His power. Do we trust God enough to rest? Or do we feel that we have to be all things to all people? Do we believe it always has to be us to get things done and that nothing can fall between the cracks? We think sometimes that if it is not for us expending every ounce of energy we have, the world will crumble around us, or so it can seem. When we remember who is really and truly in control, we realize that we can afford to rest. Here, I remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Let’s consider today where we need to slow down enough to rest in the arms of the Father and allow His love, grace, and peace to wash us anew with energy and power. Let’s ask ourselves, with what would we have to trust God with, to even make rest a possibility?
Father, today we ask that you forgive us for not trusting you enough to rest and for thinking it is us who is in control. We ask that you help us to exercise the wisdom to know when it is time to rest our bodies and our minds and that we would not fall prey to the lies of the enemy that try to make us feel guilty for doing so. We ask that we would be refreshed and rejuvenated in your love today. By your strength, we ask that we accomplish all today that you have intended us to and trust you with everything else. Amen.
