How to Rest

written by Chris Hartenstein
“How do I rest?” is a great question once we have settled that rest is a priority for us and is the gift of a good Dad to His sons and daughters.

The sabbath is a good example of what rest should be. A deep heart connection with our heavenly Dad (intimacy) and vastly different than our everyday life. It can come in small and large amounts too!

Let me explain each.

We were created to “live off our Dad.” Our hearts, minds, spirits, emotions, every part of us needs Him. When we have time to rest, to rest deeply we need to be with Him, listen to Him, hear His voice, sense His presence. Being in His presence gives us a rest that is mythical and yet true, how does that happen for you? A walk in the woods, sitting in a cafe reading, journaling, being creative? Whatever that is, make it the number one priority when you rest. For me, it is a hike in His beautiful creation, or sitting reading by a fire, journaling what is on my heart. These move me into His presence and deepen my heart's connection with Him. This connection breeds faith and a release of what’s on my heart and mind; allowing me to truly rest. He also knows what I need and gives that when I am attentive to Him.

Secondly, I avoid things that distract my heart or pull me into the routine. I avoid my phone, email, the news, work conversations, answering questions, my to-do list, etc. I just don’t let them into my day or time of rest. This lessens the distractions and enemies of my rest.  

I also try to rest in both small and large amounts (large amounts like explained above). I will pause in small amounts during my day, pray off what’s on my heart, clear my head, take a deep breath, read a prayer or verse, sit quietly for three or five minutes, and then step back into my day. It’s crazy how effective that is to keep me rested.  

Rest is something that needs to be learned and intentionally made part of every day. Give it the time it needs. You were created for it and need it so don’t neglect it. You lose when you do!  

Calibration:
- Why don’t you rest? How does that work for you?  
- What are some ways you can rest small amounts throughout your day and week?
- What are some ways you can rest in large amounts throughout your week?

Recent

Archive

 2024
 May

Categories

Tags

2020 Accept Adventure AncientLessons Answers BattlingThroughtheWilderness BillyHare Blogpost Burden Chaos Code CoreHeartQuestions Covid Detachment Deuteronomy30 DirectionDetermineDestination EnemyWithin EnemyWithout Ephesians1 Ephesians4 Ezekiel2626 FTN FalseTrueNorth Father Following Goodness Guide HNF HOME Heart Her New Fronier HolySpirit How do I live by a code? HowDoILive J.A.Hart Jesus is king Jesus: the Ultimate Example Jesus' example John10:10 John1 KingJesus Kingdom Series Kingdom of Heaven King Listening Livingasadaughter Livingasason Luke5 Mark2 Mentors MichealCassinari Montana NewCreation NewLife NewNature NewWine Normal OldNature OldWinskins Phillipians Question Reject Restoration Rhythmsofsonship Rhythms Romans8 SaintAugustine Shame Sons SouthAfrica THJ TN The New Normal TheCalltoAdventure TheCall TheGreaterStory TheHeroicJourney TheReturn TheVictory TheWilderness TrueNorth WanderingintheWilderness WhereDoIBelong WhoAmI WhyAmIHere WorkIn WorkOut a different story abide abiding above all else the heart above all else acceptance ancient lesson anxiety battle series battle weapons battle batttle blog post blog brother build the family cease-fire challenge change christmas church clarityvsunderstanding clarity community series community created order culture current daily path daughter defining effective environment exercises family fear forgiveness forgive four soils foursoils friendship fully known fully fundraising gift of rest giving grace in community god to man good soil goodsoil happy newyear hardpath healthy vs toxic shame healthy-fear healthy heart of the father heartofthefather heavenly dad heavenlyfather her new frontier home honor applied honor how can I rest how do we battle well? how to rest how to how we love how humility in true community humility image-bearer inner expirience interveiw interview janet joshua kingdom of chaos kingdom of rest kingdomofheaven kingdom known lifetothefull life love loyalty man to man mark sayers meditation methods mindsets miracle more than words moses motives movement of the heart movements myself new frontier new wine new year newyear of old vs new old wineskin older brother olderbrother older oneness vs unity oneness outer expirience parable of the sower parables parable part one part three parttwo paul peace poster child for burnout prayer life prayer warrior prayer problem of rest process prodigal son prodigal quote receive receiving rest receiving reconciles to me reconciliation reconnection reflections relationships relationship release and receive release rest series rest rhymths rhythms series rhythmsseries rhythm ruth hartenstein ruth sabbath scripture self-improvement self-sufficiency series soilseries soil sonship spiritual warfare stories aroundthefire stories surprise surrender vs self-improvement surrender the heart the older brother the path blog the path the prodigal son the prodigal thestorycircle the thorny soil three weeks tnfadventures toxic transform true community true truth understanding unity versesseries voices vs wantednotneeded warrior war way week three what I believe what kingdom do you live in what kingdom who sets my rhythms why abide why is rest important wilderness wineskin word study younger brother youngerbrother young