Why You Can’t Stop Hustling: An Invitation to Holy Rest
It happens every time we go on vacation. Or each time we open our home to others. I intend to enjoy my family. I desire to extend hospitality. But my need for order takes over, and I end up tired and frustrated.
After all, someone has to shop, cook, and clean up. And I tell myself I’ll just quickly straighten up and then spend time with the people I’m there to enjoy. But it never happens that way. The suitcases get packed or the front door finally closes, and I realize I spent very little time actually enjoying the rest and fellowship I had so looked forward to.
I just cannot rest.
Hustle Is a Heart Issue
The ironic part is that I can get up before everyone else to enjoy quiet time with God, but I can’t be still after that long enough to connect with others or allow my body to reset.
The problem isn’t my schedule — it’s what my schedule is saying. Ceaseless work makes a quiet declaration: I am in control. My productivity is what holds this together. Our culture tells us that constant productivity makes us valuable to society, and even as Christians, we often claim our busyness as a badge of honor.
And yet, the Bible tells a different story. We were created in the image of a God who weaves rhythms of rest throughout Scripture.
In the Creation account in Genesis, God didn’t rest on the seventh day because He was tired; He modeled for us a way of life that bookends our productivity and fruitfulness with times of intentional ceasing from work. God modeled rest at creation, and then He commanded it for us.
In Exodus, when God gave the Ten Commandments, He framed this rest as holy.
“’Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy’” (Exodus 20:8-11, NIV).
God didn’t give the sabbath commandment because He was concerned about burnout. He gave it because rest is an act of worship and trust. As Jen Wilkin stated in Ten Words to Live By, “An inability or unwillingness to cease from our labor is a confession of unbelief, an admission that we view ourselves as creator and sustainer of our own universe.”
That’s why rest is holy. It honors God by acknowledging that He is our Provider, and we trust Him to care for and sustain us as we cease from work and striving.
Rest is a Trust Issue
For me, it’s not about setting aside a particular day that I cease from work (although there is nothing wrong with that). I struggle with letting things go for the sake of communing with others. I put my desire for order above taking time to rest or having conversations with others.
Jesus said that all the 613 commands of the Mosaic Law could be summed up in two:
“’The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these’” (Mark 12:29-31).
My love for God must always extend to my love for my neighbor. When I am perpetually busy, it sends a message to my family: I would rather clean than spend time with you. It sends a message to my neighbors: You are disrupting my neat home by being here.
This call to rest doesn’t mean God wants us to be lazy and never work. It means our work should be punctuated by periods of rest.
For many of us, we feel so overwhelmed with responsibility that rest seems counterintuitive. If I don’t do this now, I will never be able to rest. But I would argue that is why worship of God rather than self is an act of faith.
The Shepherd Who Leads Us There
I love Psalm 23, and I always have, probably because rest makes me feel lazy and productivity makes me feel worthy. But note the language of the psalm — He makes me lie down. He leads me beside quiet waters. Rest doesn’t have to be earned any more than salvation does. It’s somewhere He takes us because of who He is. He created our bodies, minds, emotions, and souls with a need for rest. And He will gently lead us to it.
Imagine a good shepherd with his sheep. The sheep don’t lie down when they’re anxious, hungry, or threatened. The shepherd has to create the conditions for rest. He provides for them, protects them from enemies, and leads them to the best pastures.
The sheep have a job to do, but they do it best when they have rest.
The Rest That Proves We Believe
Rest is a matter of gospel grace. We rest in Christ’s finished work on the cross and believe by faith that we receive His gift of eternal life. Likewise, we work out our salvation with fear and trembling, even as God works in us to accomplish His will and purpose for us (Philippians 2:12-13).
And Hebrews 4:9-11 reminds us that there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God. Our rhythms of rest are a physical declaration that the work of salvation is finished and we are not our own providers. Rest is ultimately an act of trust in our faithful God.
What That Rest Looks Like
For me, learning to trust God with sabbath rest means slowing down, trusting that my worth and identity are in His finished work on the cross, not in my ability to produce something. A clean, organized home is nice, but spending time with my family is better. I often remember the words of Gloria Gaither, “Ask yourself often, ‘What is eternal about this moment?’”
Learning to take time to cease from constant activity and busyness is not a failure to obey God’s call to be on mission with Him. In fact, it may be the very thing needed to fuel that mission and keep our hearts focused on eternity.
What would it look like for you to practice holy rest this month — not as a productivity strategy, but as an act of worship? Welcome to our July journey, where we will explore what it looks like to cease from busyness and establish rhythms of intentional rest as worship and dependence on God. Join me in your inbox weekly and in our private Facebook group, Growing Your Faith.
*Affiliate link used that will allow me a small commission if you purchase using the link. Thank you for supporting this ministry!