Why don’t we silence our phone notifications and protect our alone time with the same urgency and focus we give to meeting critical deadlines?
For many of us techs and creatives—many of whom likely struggle with some form of “workaholism”—the idea of rest or stillness can feel unfamiliar, even counterproductive.
Whenever I’m not moving, or not actively working towards checking some item off of my vast to-do list, I often feel like I’m doing something wrong. “I should be busy right now! Sitting around doing nothing makes me look and feel lazy, so I need to get something done!”
It’s so easy to go, go, go, whether with work, family, or social lives...
What I (and perhaps you) tend to overlook sometimes is how critical a part of God’s plan rest is.
Not only did God implement the principle of weekly Sabbath rest as one of the Ten Commandments, but in his early declarations to the Israelites (noted in Leviticus 25), He also mandated a “Year of Jubilee,” one of the principles of which required the land to not be farmed for a full year so it could rest and allow nutrients within to be regenerated. God promised that even with the land being free from planting and harvest for a year, He would still provide all the sustenance His children needed by making the prior year’s crops twice as productive.
Imagine that thought: that the idea of resting and rebuilding soil, in preparation for a new generation of growth, was so important that God promised an increase of productivity in the seasons surrounding it so that nothing was lost.
I wonder how many of us need a Year of Jubilee principle in our own lives?
...surely He doesn’t know how much is on my plate and how much work I have to get done!
It’s so easy to go, go, go, whether with work, family, or social lives, that it’s just as easy to overlook the importance of having regular times of rest and replenishment.
Maybe my problem is that I don’t really trust God with His promise. Yes, I know that He promised an increase of fruitfulness and productivity with intentional rest, but perhaps I’m not really willing to take my foot off the gas long enough to really find out for sure.
Yes, He is the same God now as He was in the Bible, but surely He doesn’t know how much is on my plate and how much work I have to get done! Sitting around and not doing anything isn’t going to help get Easter prep done or a new volunteer trained!
Resting is productive...
In the literal, in-the-moment sense, that’s true. But in the long run, what if taking a breather now actually gives me a fresh wind to be able to persevere thru times of increased busyness? What if, by taking a step back, I gain a new perspective on solving a problem that I was unable to see due to my ongoing frustration from being in the middle of it for so long without seeing a way out?
What if the rest allows my body, mind, and spirit time to allow the noise of life to filter away so I can actually hear God’s direction He’s giving me?
What’s interesting is that taking intentional time to rest takes just as much discipline as it does to be productive.
When I have a lot to do, I have to fiercely protect my time so that I can focus on important things and get them done. I can’t allow distractions to bump me off course; something critical demands my priority time and attention, and other, unimportant things can’t encroach upon my day. With earbuds in and blinders on, I stay head down to do that “thing” I need to do.
Can’t I apply the same principle to rest?
If rest truly is important, then can’t I prioritize and block off that time with the same level of fierceness that I guard programming lights or creating new graphics? Can’t I turn off my phone notifications and find a way to get time alone with the same fierceness that I would if I was approaching a deadline with a critical task?
But in order to do that, I must first actually embrace and internalize the idea that seasons of rest, not just a weekly Sabbath but also a periodic “stepping away” on a vacation or sabbatical, is a critically important season that will actually help productivity, not hurt it.
When I embrace God’s principles and understand that the idea of the Year of Jubilee was designed to refresh and recharge the natural soil, then I’ll also understand how important it is for the soil of my own life to find times of rest so that God’s plans can grow within me.
Resting is productive, and when I embrace it, my own life will be filled with jubilation!
