How to Make Rest an Act of Worship

As an entrepreneur, rest has not always been my default. There are always opportunities to pursue and projects to finalize. Not only that, but people depend on me for answers, there are budgets to be made, and at times, it has felt like everyone needed something from me. Can you relate? 

Life and ministry can be overwhelming sometimes. For those in traditional church ministry, leaving work “at the office” feels impossible with your phone constantly buzzing and weekend services coming one right after the other. And what happens when a special event gets scheduled on your day off or your boss needs numbers from last week’s midweek program?  

It Starts With Sabbath

If you work in ministry, chances are Sundays (or Saturday nights) aren’t your days for rest. They are when you teach, lead worship, run kids church, or schedule counseling sessions with young couples. The Sabbath is a good day. It’s productive. It’s even an opportunity to worship God with your work. But it is not a day of rest. 

On the sixth day of creation, God created mankind (Genesis 1:26). On the seventh day, God “finished the work he had been doing,” and so He rested, blessed that day, and declared it holy – the Sabbath day (Genesis 2:2). Can you believe the first full day Adam and Eve spent in the garden was a day of rest? What a sweet gift, that God designed us to work from a place of rest! 

However, Sabbath is not dependent upon our readiness to stop. If that were true, we would never stop because we would never be “ready.” There will always be more for us to do, be it our work, personal, or home life. Rather, we stop because it is time to stop. We stop because it is a command from the Lord. We stop as an act of our will. 

In Exodus 20:8, God declares the fourth commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” Under Mosaic Law, the Israelites were commanded to do no work on the seventh day. Not even children, servants, animals, or foreigners were allowed to work. All work was to be done in six days, and the seventh day was holy. 

This command is for our church members as much as it is for church leaders. Whether your Sabbath is on Saturday, Sunday, or Wednesday, it’s not a command to be taken lightly.

Rest As Worship

In my first book, More Than Gold, I ask readers this: 

“Do you live in a state of surrender or striving? Surrender results in rest. From rest, we can do whatever God asks of us with peace and joy. Working from our own strength and strife results in burnout.” (More Than Gold)

Rest is an act of worship. It says to God, “I surrender everything to You. I trust You will provide. I believe everything is in Your hands, and I don’t have to worry.” And it is a reminder to us that God is our source. Apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). 

Now ask yourself, do I live in a state of surrender or striving? Surrender looks like rest: starting your day in God’s Word, taking a Sabbath every week, going on a walk, taking a nap, or spending time playing with your kids. Striving looks like constant worry, not being able to turn work “off,” being glued to your phone, or being too busy to spend time in God’s presence. 

Let me tell you this: Being busy, even doing good things or “ministry” is futile and unproductive without the Holy Spirit. True accomplishment comes from focusing on Him and His priorities and welcoming Him into your day-to-day activities. This is the lifestyle that will bear Kingdom fruit.  

The Enemy Loves Distraction 

Avoiding rest (i.e., keeping ourselves busy), is often a conscious or subconscious choice to avoid our faults. The flesh wants to keep striving, but slowing down allows our flaws to rise to the surface so that God can begin working things out in us. It’s not always comfortable, but it is always beneficial.  

Performance, independence, and striving are all signs of distraction. The enemy uses distraction to keep us from a closer relationship with God. He uses busyness to keep us from growing and doing Kingdom work. He uses activity to keep us from becoming more like Christ.  

“Rest is a weapon against the enemy. He cannot penetrate your peace.” –Graham Cooke

Jesus, however, is the perfect model of what it looks like to rest. While His ministry life was full, He also rested.  

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• Jesus rested in the middle of a storm. (Matthew 8:24)
• Jesus rested after performing miracles. (Matthew 14:22-23)
• Jesus spent time in solitude with God before choosing His disciples. (Luke 6:12-13) 
• Jesus encouraged the disciples to rest with Him. (Mark 6:30-32)
• Jesus withdrew to pray before He was arrested. (Luke 22:44)

By following His lead in our rest, we not only honor God and His commands, but we welcome His refreshment to our souls! Rest actually benefits us! It might not always be easy, especially at first, but the more you practice the discipline of rest, the easier it will become. 

Something to Strive For

My daughter, Bryn, points out a great observation in Episode 9 of our podcast, The Father Pursuit. In Hebrews 4:11 it says, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience” (ESV). This is the only place in Scripture we are told to strive for something. I think God did this because He knew how hard it would be for mankind to seek rest and make it a regular part of our lives.  

Is rest a regular part of your life? When was the last time you put everything aside and spent time in God’s presence? When was your last actual vacation? A sabbatical might not be in the cards for you anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t implement a rhythm of Sabbath in your days, weeks, or year. God doesn’t just suggest for us to do this, He commands for us to rest.  

Today, I believe God is calling you into a rhythm of rest. Start by setting aside time in your day and week (I encourage you to start small and build from there) and ask God to meet you there. Enter rest with the expectation that He will meet you exactly where you are and will speak to your soul. In some seasons you may hear His voice easily, and in others your rest may be quieter. Trust that God will give you everything you need in each season; His Word is always there to guide you.  

Inspiration for this blog comes from Bryan’s new book, More Than Gold: Reflections on Living in Glorious Freedom, now available in hardcover and on Audible! For more on this topic, tune into our podcast The Father Pursuit: The Faith to Rest.