In our fast-paced society, we may be tempted to see our need for rest as punishment, but rest is actually a gift from God who loves us. Where the world requires more and more of us until we’re empty, God shows His love by giving us rest and restoring our strength. Psalm 127:2 says:
“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” (Psalm 127:2 ESV)
As we trust God, we don’t have to anxiously strive or follow our hustle culture, leading us to work to no end. The writer of Psalm 23 describes God as a shepherd who leads His sheep beside still water to restore, not ask for more. God shows His patient love to us not by rushing our souls, but by restoring our souls.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sleep when I’m tired. Please allow me to see rest as the good gift from You that it is. In Jesus Christ’s Name, I pray, Amen.