Are you soul weary? Perhaps you are edging towards burnout and don’t know how to stop.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that rest is available to us as God’s children – but it’s up to us to take it:
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. Hebrews 4:1
Sister, we must say yes to His rest.
My dear friend, Lori Salierno, told me about a great formula she learned from Pastor Rick Warren concerning rest. It includes 3 practical ways to tell your soul to maintain rest. Here’s how this looks for me, and how you can adapt it to help your soul to find rest:
Divert Daily
This means that each day, I choose a temporary diversion — mental, emotional, or physical. Sometimes it’s listening to a book, sometimes it’s a 15-minute power nap, and sometimes it’s a leisurely walk or a phone call to a friend.
What about you? How can you divert daily?
Withdraw Weekly
To withdraw weekly means that you take time each week to pull back from your busy life. Just as the amount you can withdraw from a bank account depends on how much money you have to start with, so it is with your time. You may be able to withdraw for a whole day of rest and recreation. Or you may only be able to afford a few hours. The point is that you practice this discipline every week.
Some weeks I can only afford a few hours. I remove myself from anything that represents work to me. I am able to rest when I am removed from places of responsibility like my messy kitchen, my crowded inbox, and my phone.
How about you? How can you withdraw weekly? What can you do to grant yourself a soul Sabbath?
Abandon Annually
A real vacation — a once a year getaway — ushers in freedom from your busy schedule, liberty from fatigue. In fact, the Latin word vacatio means freedom.
Whoo-hoo! Don’t feel badly if this is hard for you. It’s hard for me too. Sometimes it’s difficult to carve out the time. Sometimes it’s hard to spend the money. And sometimes there is simply no time and no money. Just remember that a vacation doesn’t necessarily have to be a cruise or trip to the mountains. It can simply consist of a weekend at home watching movies and ordering pizza.
Just plan some time each year to abandon your regular routine, your long to-do lists, and your jam-packed life.
God commanded the ancient Israelites to observe the Sabbath every seven days. And they were even instructed to give their land a rest every seven years. My friend, if the dirt needs a rest so it can continue to be fruitful, so do you. So, tell your soul to choose rest!
→ Jennifer recently shared these 3 ways to restore rest in this video on Facebook. Plus, her free five day email challenge, 5 Days to Healthier Self-Talk, has even more practical wisdom for speaking truth to your soul. Sign-up today!
GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment sharing how this tip has inspired or encouraged you and be entered to win a copy of Jennifer’s new book for teen girls, Me, Myself, & Lies for Young Women. Winner will be randomly selected from comments left by Wednesday, April 19.
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