Choosing to Rest Instead of Rush
Slowing Down as Obedience
Saying no was not something I once thought of as obedience. But isn’t everything I own the Lord’s, including my time?
Often we ask God to open doors and he does, but then he may shut that same door later on and we don’t realize it. Or we assume God opened a door (and may even thank him for it!) but it was never ours to walk through. It is crucial that we keep checking in with God for the best way to spend our time.
When you invite God into your decisions about time management, it can be challenging. Whether it’s the sports your kids are in, the side hustle you have, the ministry role you serve in, or the volunteer opportunity you engage with, reevaluating the activities you do keeps you aligned with God’s heart for rest. Here is the bottom line:
It is just as important to know when to stop as it is to know when to start.
If that feels tense, I understand. I certainly felt tension when I began recognizing the tight grip busyness had in my own life. Reading John Mark Comer’s The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry was the first step in my understanding of slowing down as a practice. Previously, I found myself always looking to do something faster. I spent any spare moments responding to emails or checking my phone. I had no concept of rest.
Our days are spent going, going, going, and the hustle is rooted deep within modern American culture. Many of us feel trapped in the wave of “What’s next?” So it is both comforting and crucial to remember Jesus moved slowly.
Jesus walked almost everywhere, due to the culture at that time and his decision to live a nomadic life. But in doing so, he naturally faced interruptions. And from the gospels we know he welcomed them. How many of Jesus’s miracles began with an interruption that he received warmly? Luke 18:35–43 tells the story of a blind man begging on the road to Jerusalem. He hears a crowd, asks about the commotion, and is told that Jesus is traveling that way. The blind man asks Jesus to heal him, but is chastised by the crowd for interrupting. Undeterred, the man continues to call out, and Jesus hears him, calls him near, and heals him. Afterward, the man “followed Jesus, praising God” (v. 43).
This is an example of Jesus’s posture toward people. He never got annoyed and he was never rushed. If you look carefully at the gospels, his pace was steady and slow. Today he might be considered lazy or unmotivated, but that is simply not the case. Instead, he was intentional and open to the Father altering his schedule.
God designed restfulness to be a rhythm. He even created a biological clock in us that requires rest. When life is hard, he urges those “who are weary and burdened” to come to him, saying, “I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28–29). When God invites us close to him, he invites us into slowing down with intention and understanding.
In the last two years, I have developed a deep appreciation for rest. God opened my eyes to the deep well of goodness that flows from being rested in soul, mind, and body. Let me invite you to join me on this journey. If you’re not sure where to start, here are four first steps:
Notice: Pay attention to the places in your life where you are rushing. Recognize if you experience anxiety in the short waiting moments of daily life. Name for yourself and your soul that you need to renew the ritual of rest.
Pray: Ask God to give you his heart for rest. He will stir up his desire for renewal in you.
Research: Don’t take my word for it. Study what rest looks like in the Bible and learn what science has to say about why we need it. Some helpful books on the subject are The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and Garden City by John Mark Comer, To Hell with the Hustle by Jefferson Bethke, and Rhythms of Renewal by Rebekah Lyons. There are also entire podcasts, sermon series, and other resources dedicated to this topic.
Implement: Figure out what rituals and rhythms of rest you need, or that your family needs. Think critically about what you say no to so you can live life from a place of abundance rather than hurried scarcity.
Imagine the renewal that Christians could experience if we embraced the call to rest in Christ!
Esther Decker lives in Minneapolis. She loves Jesus, thrifting, sustainability, and good food. @esther.deck
Scripture quotations are from the New International Version of the Bible.