From Fear to Rest

Estimated reading time—4 mins

One morning, my baby woke me up at 6:00. As I lay there, I wondered whether I should just get up and start my day—to do my work, take care of the kids, do the housework. But to be honest, I felt really tired. My brain felt exhausted, and I knew I needed more sleep.

At the same time, I felt a little guilty. I wondered, “Am I just being lazy?” But instead of immediately getting up, I chose to listen to the Bible and pray. I told the Lord, “I still need to sleep. Please give me the sleep I need.” I asked my husband if he can take care of the kids, and I went back to sleep.

When I woke up again, I was amazed at how much more clear and sober my mind felt. I realized how much I had actually needed that sleep.

As I thought about it more, I remembered something from my childhood. Ever since I started school, I often stayed up until around 11:00 pm because I couldn’t finish all my work, and then I would wake up at 6:00 or 7:00 the next morning. For a while, when people asked me what my hobbies were, one of the first things I would say was “sleep,” because I really wanted to wake up naturally when I had gotten enough rest.

But as I learned in school time if I slept too much, I would fall behind. So I gradually became accustomed to pushing myself to wake up and start the day even when I was tired. Somewhere along the way, I learned to stretch myself and my brain with that fear of falling behind.

And now I realize that perhaps many of us have never really learned how to rest.

The world around us is becoming busier and busier. There is always more work to do, more things to accomplish, and more responsibilities waiting for us. We can easily begin to believe that resting means we are being lazy or falling behind.

But I am so thankful that I know the God who created us to rest.

God Himself established a pattern of work and rest. He created for six days, and on the seventh day He rested. He also gave His people the commandment to rest. And now that Jesus has come, He has given us an even deeper and more beautiful rest. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath, and in Him we can truly find rest.

Because of Christ, I don’t have to work out of fear anymore. I can work out of love.

I don’t have to work to earn God’s favor. I already have His favor in Christ.

I don’t have to work to earn God’s love. I am already completely loved in Christ.

I don’t have to prove my worth through how much I accomplish. Christ has already accomplished the righteousness that I could never achieve on my own. He has finished the work.

So when I feel guilty for needing rest, I need to remember the gospel. I need to remember that I am not a slave who has to keep working in order to earn my Master’s approval. I am a beloved child of God who is already fully accepted in Christ.

That doesn’t mean I should avoid work or responsibilities. Rather, when I learn to rest in Christ, He gives me the strength to work faithfully when it is time to work.

His grace is sufficient for me.

I don’t need to live under fear and constant stress. I can live under His perfect love and all-sufficient grace.

And perhaps this is something I need to keep learning in this busy world: how to rest in Christ, and then how to work from that rest.

I don’t have to finish everything before I am allowed to rest. Everything will never be finished. There will always be more work, more housework, and more things that need my attention.

But Christ has finished the work that matters most.

So I can rest.

And from that rest, I can get up and faithfully do the work God has given me—not because I am afraid of falling behind, not because I am trying to earn His love, but because I already know that I am loved.

In Christ, I can truly rest. And because I rest in Him, I can also truly work.