Why is it so hard to rest?

I recently wrote an article about rest and thought it was a timely one to share with you all. Rest isn't something I have ever found easy, and I suspect I'm not alone. In these times of enforced slow down, you would think that rest would be easier, but it isn’t necessarily so.

I have a place I like to drive to, so I can have some quiet with God. It is on top of a hill with beautiful countryside spread before me, and it gives me the chance to switch off for a while from the cares of the world and to tune in to my heavenly Dad.

More often than I’d like to admit however, I ready myself to talk to God and listen to what He would say to me and before I know it, I’ve nodded off. It’s so annoying! I wake up and realise that I’ve snoozed through my time and I wail to Him about what a waste it’s been.

And what does He say to me?

“You needed the rest”.

I guess I’d be foolish to argue with the God of the Universe, right?

What it does show me is that sometimes I have to be made to lie down, that the conditions must be right for me to rest.

At Bountiful we are surrounded by sheep, so I have plenty of opportunity to observe their behaviour. As I walk past their pastures, usually with our dog Mia alongside me, the flock will back away at speed from the fences that separate us, heading for higher, safer ground from which they can watch our every movement.  Would their behaviour be any different if their shepherd was around, in the way that Jesus is in Psalm 23?

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; he makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul.  

Psalm 23, verses 1-3a. 

Jesus is the shepherd that makes the sheep lie down in green pastures. You might think that wouldn’t be such a hard task – green pastures, still waters, sounds like perfect conditions to me! But research shows that to get sheep to lie down is actually, no mean feat. Sheep must be free of all obstacles to rest before they can be enticed to lie down – things like hunger, fear, pests, predators and friction with others within the flock.

Sheep are naturally skittish and easily panicked – if one runs away, the rest will follow in fright. They also have their own order of dominance, known as the ‘butting order’ and they will fight each other and even intruders to defend their place. If tormented by flies or parasites, they will stay on their feet, stamping and shaking their heads. While ever they are hungry, they will remain upright, searching for food.  Every obstacle keeps them on their feet, without rest.

It’s the shepherd who is pivotal in making it possible for his sheep to lie down, rest, and be content.

The shepherd’s presence brings calm from chaos, the safety to stop and breathe more slowly. When they see him, the pushier sheep will settle and the quieter ones will relax. The shepherd makes sure they have food and is in amongst them, keeping a watchful eye for pests and acting quickly if their health is threatened. When the shepherd has all in hand, the sheep feel safe. It is only then that they feel the freedom and security to lie down.

I think I’m just the same.

God created all of us to need rest. Perhaps you simply don’t know how? Just as laying down in a green pasture doesn’t come so easily to the sheep, neither does rest if it is something you’ve not been shown, or allowed yourself to explore. If you’re like me, it’s something you may have to learn. The frantic pace at which we live our lives has hit us smack-bang in the faces when we’ve been forced to stop by Covid 19. If you have struggled to rest, do you know what is standing in your way?

Our culture today is fast-paced and results-driven. This has given rise to several fears that we can fall prey to when we think about slowing down.  If we buy into this culture, we can be left worrying that we aren’t valuable if we’re not productive. Multitasking has become a badge of honour, but is it one that God wants us to wear?

If we slow down and take some time to rest, this will more than likely involve saying no to something. We can worry about what others think of us. Will we disappoint people? Will we be thought of as selfish, lazy or weak?

If our identity has become wrapped up in results, to-do lists and achievements, we are making the mistake of believing our worth lies in what we do and not in who we are. This leaves us open to shouldering too many demands and responsibilities, or believing everything will fall apart if we stop and rest. We become the dreaded ‘too busy’.

Does this sound familiar?

God’s heart is that rest is an important part of our lives, and He backed this up by making it a commandment. He knew we would need it in order to live well, to give us something in reserve when hard times come – even global pandemics.

Thankfully, we can seek out our shepherd when we’re troubled and finding ourselves dogged with whatever makes our rest elusive. (You may end up dozing off, like I often do - give yourself permission! It's okay!). Rest can look different for each of us, as we were all created to be unique.

What does rest look like for you?

God has been showing me some things about rest, and the obstacles to it that I didn’t realise were there for me. I’m looking forward to unpacking some of that with you in future posts. He has all the answers I need, but the number one change I have to make is to ensure I give myself enough time to ask Him the hard questions - and really want the answers.

How have you been dealing with the enforced slow down? How do you feel as things begin to ramp up again?

I thought about a song for this post and I wanted something that helps me slow down and rest. For me, that is instrumental music. One of my favourites to listen to is from Michael W Smith’s album Freedom and it is called Thy Word. It’s a song that has beautiful lyrics, but it’s this glorious instrumental version that has grabbed my heart. When I listen to it it makes me feel as though I've climbed a beautiful hill and I'm coming gently down the other side, and just enjoying being alive. I managed to find it on YouTube, accompanied by images of scripture put together by Valentina Valerie.

Doing my best to rest,

Tracey 🎶

With thanks to:

The YouTube Channel of Valentina Valerie for Michael W Smith's Thy Word from Freedom

Images from Pexels contributors Julia Aagaard, Ekrulila and Skitterphoto

Bible verse: Revised Standard Version