I do not need rest. I need relief. It feels like 2023 has been the longest year thus far. January and February felt like a year in itself. I am sure I’m not the only one. Work is increasing, life is increasing, and the speed of everything is just increasing. Sometimes life can get so overwhelming. And how do we handle these things?
For me, there’s only one way. I get into the Word. I combine that with prayer. I find friends who are in agreement with what I want or what I am trusting God for. Then I dig into the word and study until new revelation comes. From that revelation comes breakthrough, or like our word is for this year, exaltation.
What are the scriptures that you stand on in times of trouble, in times of feeling tired, in times of feeling exhausted? What are the things that you fall back onto? Do you fall back on the word or do you fall back into the world?
What is your backup plan for rest?
I speak about burnout in my book, IN10TIONALITY and a big factor in why we burn out, or work too much, or never take a break is that we will not know what to do, when we do take a break.
We’ve never decided that when I take a break, I’m going to go have a coffee. When I take a break, I’m going to the shop quickly. When I take a break, I’m going to walk outside in the garden. When I take a break, I’m going to go down to the cafeteria. When I take a break, I’m going to go to the gym. Therefore, we don’t take breaks because we don’t know what we will do when we take breaks.
But when is it time to take a break?
I want to challenge you to write down three things for yourself that you will do when you decide I am taking a break. But when is it time to take a break? You decide to take a break when you can feel yourself getting tired. Simple right? Then why where you not doing it?
I am not saying take an hour break, but sometimes a 5 or 10-minute coffee can make a world of difference. Maybe you work from home or you’re stuck in the office and you just need some inspiration. Take your laptop to a coffee shop and work from there. There must be a way where you can step out of your environment and get fresh inspiration. It is so easy to fall into the inspiration trap or the inspiration gap where we start feeling uninspired because we never saw the gap or took the break.
For me, I fall back onto the word. Even when I’m tired and I can’t make the coffee because it is load shedding, I can’t go to the shop because there simply is just not enough time before my next meeting, and going to the gym is definitely not going to work either. I stand back and I get into the Word of God. Nothing refreshes me like that. Here are some of the scriptures that I stand on to gain rest and to refresh myself.
Scriptures for refreshment and rest:
God gives us so many promises in the Word when it comes to rest. One of my favorite ones is Psalms 127:2, this is from the passion translation.
“It really is senseless to work so hard from early morning till late at night, toiling to make a living for fear of not having enough. God can provide for his devoted lovers even while they sleep!”
Psalms 127:2 TPT https://bible.com/bible/1849/psa.127.2.TPT
Sometimes we are pressured at work, we are pressured with life, we are pressured with finances that we truly toil day and night for the fear of not having enough. I rest with the knowing at night to say God can provide for his devoted lover, someone like me, even while I sleep.
He also says in Psalms 4:8. “Now, because of you, Lord, I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once, for no matter what happens, I will live unafraid!” Psalms 4:8 TPT https://bible.com/bible/1849/psa.4.8.TPT
Proverbs 3:24.
“You will sleep like a baby, safe and sound— your rest will be sweet and secure.”
Proverbs 3:24 TPT https://bible.com/bible/1849/pro.3.24.TPT
I am sure all of us want our sleep and our rest to be sweet and sound. So that when we put our heads down, we can actually sleep, and we don’t wake up or don’t think about the things that are bothering us, the things that are not going the way that we have planned it to go. A baby does not think about tomorrow, he sleeps safe and sound.
Psalms 3: 5 says.
“I lay down and slept; I wakened again, for the Lord sustains me.”
Psalm 3:5 AMPC https://bible.com/bible/8/psa.3.5.AMPC
It is such a powerful thing to wake up with gratitude in the morning and say, Thank you, Lord, for another day. I know that you sustain me!
“The sleep of a working man is sweet, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach (greed) of the rich [who hungers for even more] will not let him sleep.” Ecclesiastes 5:12 AMP https://bible.com/bible/1588/ecc.5.12.AMP
I believe it’s simply saying that when you are living an abundant life, the things of life become much. I think it is vital to set up a supporting structure alongside you that when things get that much, that even those with abundance can also sleep because God sustains them.
In John 14:27, the word says, “Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]”
John 14:27 AMP https://bible.com/bible/1588/jhn.14.27.AMP
That is just the thing. We get anxious with the things of life. And anxiety starts to set in. Fear starts to set in. Fear of tomorrow. I like what 1 Peter 7 says about anxiety, “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” And Philippians also talk about not being “anxious about anything. But in prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your petitions to God.”
The Word is a powerful force and can encourage us in very difficult times. Maybe you at that place where you are frustrated because you do not have time to rest, you’re frustrated, or you passed a place where you’ve maybe even rested and you’ve rested. You are not tired physically, but more mentally and emotionally, you are at that place of I don’t need rest, I need relief.
Get into the Word of God. Get your faithful friends alongside you to pray in agreement with you. Get new revelation on the Word of God to be refreshed, to find revelation, and so that the manifestation of that prayer can come to pass.
I encourage you to write down a few things you enjoy doing and commit to taking a break when you feel overwhelmed.
Remember that you don’t have to do everything on your own, and it’s okay to ask for help when you need it. Take care of yourself, and know that you’re not alone in this.
To transform limiting beliefs into empowering beliefs, follow these four steps:
- Recognize the specific belief you wish to alter.
- Assess the restrictions imposed by this belief on your actions, feelings, or thoughts.
- Choose how you want to behave, think, or feel instead.
- Draft a positive statement that validates and encourages this new perspective, enabling you to act or think differently.
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