Nothing can change the fact that work is a nonnegotiable need. Whether it’s hard work, smart work, or quick work, one fact remains unchanged – for us to live dignified lives, great quality of work must be done. Regarding overwork or imbalanced work, one topic that isn’t very far from the lips of many is that of burnout—the state of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. (Burnout definition – Source: helpguide.com) Burnouts are real. Still, they are avoidable. When we understand the concept of work and rest through God’s lens, breakdowns in our level of productivity will be avoided. Let’s soak in on the words said below by Jesus Christ to His disciples, you and I inclusive.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.”
Matthew 11:28-29 AMPC
It is needful I mention that without labor, one does not deserve rest. No work. No rest. Hebrews 4:11 also confirms it. It tells us that we must labor to enter into our rest. The rest Jesus Christ invites us to enjoy is one that almost sounds too good to be true, yet, it is so true. Jesus is calling us to detach from our restlessness and uneasiness in order to find refreshment for our souls. The rest Jesus Christ invites us to experience is not one that absolves us of responsibilities. Jesus calls us to take His Yoke upon us and learn of Him. That sounds like work to me. Nevertheless, in this kind of work lies the cure to burnouts.
“Christ’s “rest” is not a “rest” from work, but in work, “not the rest of inactivity but of the harmonious working of all the faculties and affections—of will, heart, imagination, conscience—because each has found in God the ideal sphere for its satisfaction and development” (J. Patrick, in Hastings’ Bible Dictionary). Parents can truly experience rest as they train their children. Students can experience rest as they grow in knowledge. Workers from all walks of life can experience rest as they provide goods and services. When your entirety is in congruence with God, and your satisfaction is hinged on God and not standards of the world, then you will find rest.
The cure to you and I being weary and overburdened is to learn of Jesus Christ, the meek and lowly One. When our assignments, purpose, and visions starts to take the 1st priority in our lives, we are simply setting ourselves up for burnouts. When we learn that our 1st priority must be the God of our visions, not our visions, we will save ourselves a world of avoidable stress. When we realize that God prioritizes our walk with Him above our work for Him, we will truly live.
J. Patrick sheds so much light on the concept of work and rest. He shows us that we can experience rest in the midst of work, not merely after the day’s work. This kind of rest only Jesus Christ gives is received when your will, imagination, mind and conscience are in alignment with God’s will, and stays satisfied and gets developed in Him. The reason why many of us experience burnouts is because we feel pressured to produce more and more results at the expense of our wellness. We get consumed by having products, forgetting to take proper care of the machine responsible for production which in this case happens to be you. When the motive of your works are centered in God, you won’t feel pressured to merely produce results. Like Jesus, you’ll begin to say often, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34) Your work will become the source of your nourishment, not the source of your stress when your work in grounded in God.
Rest, my dear friend. Rest in God while you work.
With love and passion,
Ashley
