Take A Break

Have you ever felt so exhausted that all you wanted to do was nothing? Maybe you’ve felt overwhelmed looking at your schedule to the point where you thought it would be impossible to have a day free of obligations. We live in a busy and hurried world with demands around every corner we turn. We have work demands of never-ending to-do lists, meetings, and deadlines. We have family demands of meals, get-togethers, and life circumstances that require us to care for one another in more intentional ways. (weddings, funerals, births, etc.) Perhaps we have demands within our communities, schools, churches, or other organizations we participate in.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as our world's pace is non-stop with weather updates, breaking news, and non-stop notifications sent straight to you 24/7 365. We all grow weary from this pace and feel trapped in it. If we are honest we all need a break, but often don’t think it is a high priority or even possible.

We weren’t meant to operate at this pace. It is unsustainable. It burns us out, makes us bitter and angry, and leaves us utterly exhausted. You don’t need to live this way, and God doesn’t want you to. In Exodus 20:8-11, God tells us to take a break. He knows that the world is busy and that life requires work, but He invites us to take a day to rest every week. Why? Because this is the rhythm of the universe.

When we overwork ourselves and other people we step out of the rhythm of the life we were intended to have and the results are deteriorating. This is why God doesn’t just invite us to rest our bodies, minds, and souls…he commands it. His instruction to take a break comes in a famous list known as the 10 commandments. You know, the famous one that tells us not to lie, steal, or kill? In that same list, God commands that we rest regularly. He even takes the time to emphasize this commandment with more words than any other commandment on the list. Yet, this is often the first in that list that we quickly ignore.

The pace of our world will always demand more from us, but if you want to begin to experience a life of true joy and peace you need to begin to regularly take a break.

Grace and Peace,

Austin