Rest—nobody has time for that! We have too many tasks to tend to, too many people to consider, too many goals to accomplish. Nobody has time to be lazy, laying around like there’s nothing to do!
What if I told you it’s possible to rest while running? What if, in fact, we considered resting to be a big part of running?
I’ve always been busy. I thrive on regular activity, the company of many others, and the thrill of anticipation for the next big thing. Being busy keeps my life full, and the anticipation of an upcoming event or activity energizes and motivates me to accomplish, produce and perform.
Can you relate? I’ve operated on cliches like, “Anything worth having is worth working for,” and “If you aim at nothing, you’ll certainly hit it.”
I find these mindsets to be true and even beneficial…
UNTIL THEY BECOME PERVERTED
At the point of perversion, the constant running takes control of me, and then I find myself in bondage to the expectations of achievement. In the end, I’ll end up totally spent, crashing and burning. After crashing and burning, everything I worked toward is blown up with nothing left but defeat, and what that looks like is me, scattered and shattered like a glass vase that’s crashed on a concrete floor.
Now, don’t hear me say there is never a time for hard work, or that deadlines are not important. Hard work and deadlines are imperative to make things happen, but it seems our regular rhythm is off-balance much of the time.
Our culture tells us to think in terms of a year: work>work>work>work>work>then vacation for a week or two. Now repeat. Sounds healthy enough.
IS IT HEALTHY?
What that translates to is run>run>run>run>run>then rest. Notice the imbalance in the words alone. The scales are tipped toward the running side.
The working and running carry much more weight than the vacationing and resting.
This heavy imbalance of lifestyle calls for a way to even it up. How can we more equally distribute the weight between the running and the resting? Is there any way to make our rest as weighty as our running?
HAVE WE MISSED IT?
The answer has long-before been given to everyone who chooses God’s way of living, but somewhere along the way, many of us have missed it. Or maybe we were running so fast, we failed to refer back to the perfect model for comparison. Or, did we become so free in our faith, moving into complacency, then forgetting to look for the answer?
The answer came in the very beginning without any words. In the story of Creation, you’ll remember God created all the details of the world in six days, then on the seventh, He rested, and scripture says He was refreshed (Exodus 31:17).
In a deeper discussion, we’ll delve into why God rested, but here we are looking at the what. And just like that, in the very beginning, Creator God lays out the model for the most healthy, life-giving lifestyle: work six days, rest on the seventh. Repeat.
If you and I will adopt this God-given rhythm as an habitual practice, our lives will deliver health, happiness and life-giving patterns on a daily basis. This lifestyle produces a kind of inner peace containing an element of rest that is supernatural. The Sabbath rhythm serves as perpetual rest in the midst of our running.
HOW CAN REST HAPPEN WHILE RUNNING?
Consider it an intermission for the purpose of renewal, refreshing and reparations.
What gives us life during our rest on the seventh day will inform how we operate in life during our running over the other six days.
Are you looking for a balance to your full and hectic lifestyle?
TRY THIS KICKSTART TO MAKE SABBATH ACTUALLY HAPPEN
Step 1: Intentionally Schedule The Day
When God teaches about Sabbath, He calls it a “holy” day; a day set apart by doing no work, thereby making space in our lives to honor Him as our Holy God.
Think of it this way: God made Sabbath holy. He asks us to keep Sabbath holy (Exodus 20:8-11). Keeping Sabbath holy is our way of participating with His life-giving way of living.
I find it takes a great deal of intentionality because rest goes against our natural tendencies and the expectations of our culture. God’s instruction to “Remember the Sabbath day…” speaks to human nature, our tendency to forget what’s really important.
Do you ever forget to remember?
In scripture when God is teaching His people about living His way, He is careful to explain: Sabbath is a sign of His favor. It signifies how closely He holds His child, signaling that God’s children are distinguished from all others who have not chosen to join HIs family.
It is significant that God says, “Remember”. There’s an intentional choice involved when we set one day apart from the others. One of the most specific practices I use to help me remember is to schedule Sabbath on my calendar. That way, when scheduling other days of the week, my Sabbath day is already recorded.
Seeing it on the calendar helps me not forget to remember.
Step 2: Make the Necessary Advance Preparations
When studying scripture to learn more about Sabbath, I noticed a consistency: those who practiced Sabbath were very intentional to plan ahead. Like we do when we plan for any event, they set themselves up for success by “pre-living the event” so that all was in place to actually enjoy rest on the Sabbath. (Exodus 16:22-26)
As in scheduling on the calendar, preparation involves an intentional choice to plan ahead, doing the work of the event in advance, so that Sabbath remains a day of rest: ceasing from work.
Step 3: Enjoy the Day
Rest pays off in joy, and joy accompanies celebration.
The intentionality here becomes to remain focused on the reason for the day: keep the main thing the main thing.
What is the main thing? God and the things of God.
Need a suggestion? Here’s a good starting point – three foundational truths for your focus:
- His unconditional love for you (Read 1 John 3:1 in your Bible),
- His consistent provision for you (Read Philippians 4:19 in your Bible),
- His constant care for you (Read Matthew 11:38-39 in your Bible).
A day free from work makes space in your heart to think about how God fits into your life. A full day’s laser focus of personalizing God’s great love will always bring you to a sense of gratefulness, personal value, and extreme allegiance for Him who loves us so deeply.
Or, you could take one of the many promises from God and focus specifically on what that promise means to you in your friendship with HIm. You might determine to watch for ways He demonstrates that promise to you over the next six days. This is a prime example of letting your Sabbath rest inform the other six days of your week.
HOW IT’S WORKED FOR ME
I can tell you from personal experience, this focus on intentional thinking is life-giving and life-transforming.
To be real here, resting while running makes all the difference in how I react to and navigate through anger that crops up when things don’t go my way; frustration that sets into my marriage; fear that creeps up over my personal concerns; disappointment when a friend betrays me.
All those hard parts of life soften somewhat when Sabbath rest informs my daily running.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Do you practice Sabbath? If so, how does it affect you? If not, what obstacles challenge you as you consider it? Type in your comments below.
P.S. Watch for my ebook available soon, about this concept of Sabbath rest and resting while running. I’d love to hear your thoughts this week as you ponder how Sabbath fits into your daily running. Come back any time and comment below. Your comment comes straight to my inbox, and I’d value your insights as I write!