I recently heard neuroscientist Matthew Walker give an interview about sleep. In the interview, he shared about 3 men and their nightly routines. All 3 men slept 10-12 hours per night and 2 out of the 3 also took naps during the day. I was intrigued and surprised at these numbers and it got me thinking about the necessity of rest. Culture would tell us these men are getting too much sleep, perhaps they are lazy, and they probably have a lack of motivation. If we had to guess, we would most likely assume these men are not “successful” and aren’t necessarily thriving in life. Maybe some would call them depressed.
The 3 men Walker spoke of are:
22 time NBA all-star Lebron James,
5 time number one Tennis player Roger Federer, and
8 time Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt.
From the beginning of time, God has instructed us to rest, yet somehow we tend to think we can outsmart God! Science always ends up catching up with the Bible. Rest seems to be the antithesis of productivity, but what if rest is actually the catalyst to the greatness God has designed you for?
There are always more things to do, more chores to get done, more to check off the list. Satan loves our to-do list and has used it to keep God’s people overwhelmed, distracted, and even frantic with how much we must keep up with. We have become slaves to the tasks; instead of gaining freedom from so much to do, we have simply found more that needs to be done! “If I can just finish this, I’ll be able to sit down.” …we never arrive. There is always another thing and more busyness.
I have grown to despise the word “busy.” I don’t believe we were created to live busy- to fill every square inch on our calendars, never resting. The reality is that we will never be finished. There will always be another thing, another chore, more growing grass, another broken something that needs our attention.
And such is the case for Lebron, Roger, and Usain. In their careers, there must have been times when they were tempted to neglect their rest, work harder, longer, and more in order to achieve their goals or dreams. “Logic” would say if they wanted to be the best, they needed to practice most hours of the day. Yet, this isn’t the case. They came to understand what God taught from the beginning: rest is crucial to our health, happiness, growth, productivity, and success.
They came to understand the physical effect rest had on their bodies. It is in rest that cells repair themselves, that muscle fibers grow, and that our bodies rid themselves of unwanted toxins. You and I aren’t all-star athletes, however we carry around a physical body just as they do and we need rest just as they do. Our bodies, too, need time to repair cells, to grow muscle fibers, and to rid ourselves of toxins.
But let’s not stop there- can you imagine what also happens emotionally when we rest? For a precision athlete, their mindset and emotional well-being is just as (if not more) important as their physical health. It is in rest that our minds are able to process the day’s activities, conversations, conflicts, and such. It is in rest that our bodies digest and absorb lessons learned and skills taught. It is in rest we have the ability to return to a state of balance and emotional regulation. With the bombardment of ideas, information, and technology being thrown at us daily, we need emotional rest!
As if this were not enough, as Christ-followers, there’s even more! In Isaiah 58 God tells us that if we lean into sabbath-delight, not getting caught up with all our busyness and concerns, His joy will be ours! Isn’t that ultimately what we all long for? Joy? Don’t we want to walk through our days experiencing the gladness of heart that our Lord offers? It starts with rest, first at night, and then with an extended rest each week: Sabbath. It is in this place of resting- sabbathing- with the Lord that dreams are birthed, His Words are spoken, breakthroughs happen, victory is won, faith is strengthened, and fruit is grown. What seems to be “lost opportunity” and “wasted time” is actually the upside down Kingdom of God! It is the very place where our humanity meets His extraordinary and the impossible can come forth.
As we move through this Summer, I encourage you to join Sixty-One Acres in adopting a mindset of rest. Perhaps you can’t take an extended time of rest from your job, but you can shift something! Maybe it is allowing yourself more sleep at night, or a slow Saturday morning. Whatever you do, begin to prioritize the gift of rest. See it as just as (or even more) important than some of the tasks on your to-do list. There is nothing better than resting with the Lord. It is in the rest that He gives you the strength to tackle the next thing. Will you accept His gift of rest?
-Christi
If because of the Sabbath you set aside your own pursuits and pleasure, and you honor the Sabbath and sanctify that day by leaving it to and for the Eternal- If you speak of Sabbath-delight but avoid speaking idle words, and refuse to get caught up and busy with your interests and concerns- Then you will discover joy such as only the Eternal can give. And I will raise you high and make your reach as wide as the earth, And you will live on all that I promised to Jacob, your ancestor, the heart of Israel. Isaiah 58:13-14