Planning to Rest: What Is Absolutely Necessary?

Post by
Michelle Dowell, Contributor

The Bible clearly calls us to rest—to not constantly work but to take times of rest, especially on the Sabbath, and that plan to rest needs to be intentional for most people. It takes work (preparation and planning) to rest from work, but it's worth it.

The first step is to find out what is absolutely necessary, such as washing dishes and other similar tasks. And possibly only doing what is necessary for that day or week.

Putting common things you do on a list may be helpful. Anything on it that's not necessary and in all honesty not restful in some sense, should be taken off the to-do list. Also, not waiting until the last minute to do these tasks is important too. Rushing or feeling stressed may actually cause it to take longer or for you to feel more tired after the task.

If there are things that need to be caught up on, taking a small amount of time each day on a project is better than working non-stop for many hours and days.

We may think certain things are essential to do that aren't, and often the reason may be pressure from other people or commercials and our perception of what other people think we should be doing, like joining the most recent book club or Bible study or a number of activities. These activities can be good, but it should be a thought-out decision of whether or not they crowd a schedule too much or an activity that you truly enjoy.

It's very easy these days to find a large amount of opportunities of things to do. If we do as many as we can without being intentional about rest, it's hard to enjoy and be fully present at them all, let alone feel healthy and rested in everyday life. God wants us to thrive, and he cares about our rest.