When I was growing up, my family would take two different vacations every year with the same goal in mind: TO HIT IT HARD! In the winters, we would travel to the Colorado mountains to snow ski, and in the summers, we would go to Table Rock Lake to water ski, wakeboard, tube, and participate in any other high-intensity water sports available.
To give you an idea of the schedule: when at the lake, we would wake up at around 6 or 6:30 a.m. to be on the water by 7 a.m., just so we could ride on the glassy smooth waters that had yet to be graced by another boat. We’d tear it up for hours, maybe seeing one or two people by 9 a.m. and continue to shred until all the “casual” lake-goers came out around 10:30 or 11:00 a.m. to cruise around. At that point, we would head back to shore, grab a quick bite to eat at our cabin, and then return to the lake to start tubing. The best time to tube is when the most boats are on the lake—more boats equal more waves, which equal MORE CARNAGE!
As the day was wrapping up, many people would see that as an opportunity to wind down and head back to shore, but we saw it as an opportunity to seize. Once again, the lake would return to a glassy smooth surface before the sun completely set, so we would pull the wakeboard back out and hit a few more runs. Our philosophy was: first ones on, last ones off. The same went for our winter vacations—first ones on the mountain and the last ones off. Vacation was all about high-intensity play.
As I’ve aged, some family friends have moved away, and since getting married, we’ve started our own family traditions. We no longer take the same vacations. To be honest, I’ve struggled at times to enjoy other vacations because of what my tradition and experience were growing up. This has led me to ask myself the question: Why do we vacation? As I get older, I realize that it’s an opportunity to rest and rejuvenate—at least, that’s what I find myself wanting more and more from my vacation time.
I bring this up to share how I’ve been wrestling with learning how to rest well, ever since Jack’s sermon series at the beginning of the year about God’s commandment to rest (or Sabbath). The R.E.S.T. acronym that he shared has been life-changing for me. If you don’t remember, those letters stand for the following:
REST – in God and the finished work of Christ. No scrolling feeds or distracting yourself with entertainment. Enter into God’s rest. (Genesis 2:1–3; Exodus 16:23; 23:12; Hebrews 4:8–11)
ENJOY – God, His creation, and His blessings. Do something fun. Delight in the gifts God has given you (e.g., family, gifting, art, hobbies). (Exodus 23:12, 31:16–17; Romans 14; Colossians 2:16–23, 3:15–17)
STOP – laboring. Set work aside to open your heart, mind, and soul to God. This is not a lazy day but the Lord’s Day. It’s not a day off, but a day offered. (Exodus 20:8–11, 31:15; Luke 4:16)
TRUST – that God will not only provide what you need but be what you need. (Leviticus 25:20–22; Isaiah 58:13–14; Matthew 12:1–13; Mark 2:27)
Recently, my wife and I had a friend get married in South Carolina, and we decided to turn it into a short vacation in Charleston before the busy season we’re about to enter. (If you want, ask me about it on Sunday—it was a fantastic trip, and Charleston is awesome.) If you didn’t know, my wife is a school teacher. And if you really didn’t know, and maybe live under a rock, school is starting very soon—like, right now soon! Along with that comes the ramp-up in student ministry schedules, so we’re both going to be busier. But with that in mind, I wanted this vacation to be different from the vacations of my childhood. I think that’s largely due to the work God has been doing in my heart, showing me how important it is to REST with Him and to DWELL with Him.
We had a great opportunity to put R.E.S.T. into action for three days, and it was a powerful reminder of the peace God has to offer us, the beauty and might of His creation around us, His provision, and my need to rely on Him for everything. I don’t know about you, but when I choose to rest in His peace, strength, and reliance, that’s when life feels the least burdensome.
Many of you, like us, are entering a busy season of life. Or maybe you feel like you can’t even remember the last time you weren’t super busy. In that, I want to remind you to rest. Rest doesn’t always mean cutting out activities or completely overhauling your schedule. Sometimes, it simply looks like being intentional—setting your phone down during the time you do have to recenter and reset your life on God’s desire for you. It means dwelling with Him in prayer, spending time in His Word, or talking with your spouse about God’s faithfulness in your lives.
Rocky Rocholl, the president of our denomination (FEC), said something that was deeply profound to me. He mentioned the idea we have of God during His creation: we often imagine Him working all week, creating for six days, and then resting on the last day. He challenged us to notice that the first whole day God spent with man after He created us was spent entirely in rest. Man’s first full day after being created was spent resting with God, and then the workweek began. Rocky also pointed out that the Jewish day begins in the evening when the sun sets, showing how their culture historically viewed every day as starting with sleep and rest. Isn’t that so countercultural to our go-go-go American society?
Because of the work God has done in my life, I wanted our recent vacation to be filled with rest and time with Christ. This was starkly different from my upbringing and past experiences, but I knew it would re-energize me for the work and life to come!
What would it look like for you to work out of rest, instead of working really hard so you can rest?
Peace and Blessings,
Bryant Hart