As we’ve seen throughout this series, all of us get tired now and then. For years, I thought rest was something I’d earn once everything was finally under control. And that meant I would work myself to the bone. To the point where I was physically and mentally unable to do anything anymore. But as we’ve seen in the previous episode, we need to recharge before our battery hits zero.
Through the experiences of Elijah, Jesus, and the disciples, we learned that working for the Lord can be intense. The kind of work we do doesn’t matter because it states in Colossians 3:23 that whatever we do, we should do as for the Lord. And when we work for the Lord, the enemy will try to discourage us any way he can. He will try to steer us away from the freedom, peace, joy, and rest the Lord has given us. He pushes us hard and deceives us into carrying burdens that aren’t ours to carry. And when we listen to him instead of God’s Word, we will grow tired, weary, and eventually, we will burn out.
But God didn’t leave us helpless. His Word is filled with wisdom on how to maintain the rest, peace, and strength God provides. In this part of the series, we’ll bring together everything we’ve learned in the previous episodes to establish how we can recharge the spirit, soul, and body.
Watch the video or read the article below.
Your first defense against burnout: the Armor of God
Of course, our first line of defense against unnecessary tiredness is wearing the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). We need that armor to stand strong against the enemy’s attacks. It helps us stand on the truth of God’s Word and prevents lies and deception from taking root in us. I won’t go into how that works here, but you can read more about the Armor of God in an article series I’ve written before.
Besides wearing the armor, it’s crucial that we take time to recharge to stand strong. No soldier can fight battles 24/7. We need rations, ammunition, and sleeping gear. And if anything threatens to run out, we return to base for a restock, because we need to keep our lamps burning (Luke 12:35-36).
So, what does that look like for us?
1. How to rest your body
Let’s begin with the body. In the previous episode, we learned how Elijah had no strength left. He was so exhausted, hungry, and thirsty that he lost all will to live. We also learned what it meant that the disciples had no way to feed five thousand people with only five loaves of bread and two fish.
Trusting God’s provision in times of scarcity
Continually trusting in God’s provision can be hard, because it means that even in times of scarcity, we have to believe that God will provide us with what we need. God loves us and sees our struggles. Yet, sometimes He allows it so that we stop trying to take control. When we are out of options, like Elijah and the disciples, we have no choice but to turn to Him.
Deuteronomy 8:3 states: “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” God allows scarcity and challenges in our lives, so that we are reminded what matters most: our relationship with God. We need the Bread of Life to live. Do we trust what He says and act accordingly, or do we rely on what our eyes see and our bodies tell us?
Many of us share this struggle; trusting in God’s provisions in times of scarcity has been an ongoing challenge for my husband and me too.
Jesus at the well: rest as an act of obedience
When the body is tired, we temporarily cease physical activity to restore physical energy. We do this through, for example, eating, sitting, and sleeping. The word “restore” describes this process quite vividly: the energy stores are empty and need to be replenished.
When Jesus traveled a really long distance between Judea and Galilee, He had to pass through the region of Samaria, where He had a divine appointment with the woman at the well. You can read the full story in John 4.
We can read that Jesus was physically tired (John 4:6), and so He sat down beside the well. But He didn’t just decide to stop there because He was tired or thirsty. For in that case, He could have stopped at any well along the way, and His meeting would have been a coincidence. But He chose this well, Jacob’s well, in the town named Sychar (possibly meaning “drunk”). Nothing Jesus did was without reason because in all that He did, He followed God’s example (John 5:19). This means that even His rest was an act of obedience to God.
Is it wrong for Christians to want rest?
That is important to know because it answers the questions we began this series with: “Is it wrong for Christians to desire rest in order to be more productive?” and “Does God really want me to rest right now, or is that just an excuse to be lazy?” When we walk in the Spirit, as Jesus did, we will rest at God-appointed times, and our rest itself will be productive. God has a purpose, even with our rest.
When we truly seek to glorify God (because all we do should be done for the glory of God, 1 Corinthians 10:31), even our rest will be holy worship. The crux lies in our desires: do we desire rest more than God, making rest an idol, or do we desire God more than rest, so that He provides us rest?
It’s important to understand that God is our Source of rest, and the provider of our strength. The source is not the rest itself, nor us. In Deuteronomy 8, it says: “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day,” (Deuteronomy 8:17-18, ESV).
He enables us to do what we are supposed to do, so that we can keep His promises, and He uses various tools to do so. Among other things, He provides us with food, water, health, and sleep to do His will.
He gives His beloved sleep
We know that getting refreshing sleep is important for replenishing energy stores. Thankfully, resting in God and sleeping well go hand in hand. Mostly. Sometimes, God wakes us up in the middle of the night to tell us something important.
The reason they go hand in hand is that God gives His beloved sleep, as we can read in Psalm 127:2. And here it is again, the thread woven throughout this series: the beloved in this verse is the person who trusts in God, rather than in their own works, here called anxious toil.
Sleeping through the storm
When He slept through the storm in Matthew 8, Jesus showed His ability to sleep through situations that others would find alarming. The boat was rocking and being swamped by waves, but Jesus was fast asleep (Matthew 8:24). He had had an eventful day, with healing the sick, casting out evil spirits, and busy crowds all needing something from Him. Many would be overstimulated by just one of those events, unable to sleep because their minds would be racing. But He was so fast asleep that the disciples had to wake Him.
They probably couldn’t sleep because they were too afraid they were going to die in the storm. And aren’t fear and anxiety often the reason we struggle to sleep? Our minds are often spinning with fear that something bad will happen, or that we said something dumb, that someone doesn’t like us anymore, that we failed, that we can’t solve a problem, that we forgot something, et cetera, et cetera.
However, if they had understood Who Jesus was, they wouldn’t have been scared for a second. God is sovereign over everything, including the winds and the sea. Jesus slept through the storm because He knew His Father would protect Him and work out everything for His good. He does the same for us: He calms both the external and internal storms when we have faith in Him.
[The text continues after the image.]
2. How to refresh your soul
Drinking from the Living Water
Let’s go back to the story of Jesus at the well for a moment. Our bodies need food and water to refuel. When we are thirsty and hot (like Jesus would have been around that hour), drinking water can be especially refreshing. We all know that, so Jesus used that knowledge to teach this woman (and us) another lesson. While His disciples had gone to buy food, Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for water. He used that opportunity to explain that drinking physical water is a temporary solution, only fit for replenishing the body, while drinking from the Source of Living Water will give eternal life and will quench the thirst of the soul forever.
This Living Water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and harkens back to Scripture verses such as “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God,” (Psalm 42:1-2a) and “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water,” (Psalm 63:1).
When the soul, body, or spirit is weary, and we can’t go on, we need the Holy Spirit more than ever. If we stubbornly carry on, continuing to work until we literally can’t anymore, it equals trying to work in our own strength, which has already been sapped.
Instead, we should go back to the Source and draw Living Water so that we can carry on beyond human capacity. Jesus stopped His journey and sat down in order to do this. For us, this means stopping what we’re doing and going to a desolate place (like a room or prayer closet) and seeking God’s face. Praise Him, pour out your heart to Him, open your Bible, and be still to listen. You will see that this leads to more productivity than you could have managed if you had simply carried on.
Worship that refreshes the soul
Another great way to refresh the soul is through worship. Write music or poetry, sing along to Bible-saturated worship songs, or simply listen to them with intent. My husband and I always feel refreshed, encouraged, peaceful, and strengthened when we do this. During our summer vacation, I had a deeply refreshing and joyful moment with God while listening to worship music and staring at the stars in the sky.
True worship is a weapon that breaks bonds; it creates a space where the enemy can’t stand to be in (Acts 16:25-26). King Saul in the Old Testament experienced this firsthand: “And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him” (1 Samuel 16:23, ESV). When we read what sort of songs David wrote in the Psalms, this effect is to be expected. Because they are part of the Word of God, and the Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), our best weapon against our spiritual enemies.
Sitting at His feet like Mary
Receiving spiritual nourishment means sitting at His feet and being still, watching, listening, and learning like Mary did, instead of doing what Martha did when she was toiling and thought it would earn Jesus’s appreciation (Luke 10:38-42). We can only receive when we listen to what God wants to teach us, straight from the Word, but also through other people, experiences, and things we see happening around us that may carry important lessons. Those lessons help our faith grow as they provide evidence that God loves us, fights for us, provides for us, and so on. And this leads to being able to rest in God and share what we have received.
3. How to recharge your spirit
Rest through sanctification
When Paul wrote, “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, ESV), he placed those parts in the order: spirit, soul, and body. And I mentioned before that I believe he did this on purpose. Because we are children of God, who is spirit, we are spiritual beings first. We should therefore live spiritual lives and see the world from a spiritual perspective. Looking at life from a spiritual perspective helps us rest in times of trouble because we see the bigger picture. A picture closer to what God sees, a picture in which He is all-powerful and the circumstances we find ourselves in, fleeting.
In this verse, Paul also calls God “the God of peace.” I believe he did this to underline that God promises peace to those who live righteously (Psalm 85:8-10, 119:165; Romans 2:10, 8:6). Not by keeping the letter of the Law, but by following the lead of the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel is the good news of peace (with God) through Jesus Christ (Acts 10:36). We are made right with God by faith, not through works (Romans 5:1). So this sanctification process Paul wrote about is not a matter of works but of faith and of walking in agreement with the Holy Spirit. He wrote, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6, ESV).
Any born-again Christian who follows their own will instead of the Holy Spirit will drift away from the experience of God’s peace. And this will result in unrest in their spirit. The first step to finding peace in your spirit is therefore repenting of wrongdoing and realigning your steps with the will of God.
Staying plugged in to the Source
When we are in tune with the Holy Spirit, this automatically results in peace and joy (Romans 14:17), but also in an inner drive to do good works and produce good fruit. When we listen to the Holy Spirit carefully, our thoughts, feelings, and subsequent actions are transformed in such a way that they align with God’s (Romans 12:2). So the urge to do good will come from the inside out.
The way I allegorically simplify this is that the Holy Spirit charges and recharges our “battery” for good works. In this allegory, God is the power Source, the Holy Spirit the cable that connects us straight to Him, and Jesus the One who plugs us in. To remain plugged in to the Source, we need to have faith in Jesus and follow the Holy Spirit continuously. If we unplug ourselves because we choose to go another way, then we will soon run out of power. We will stop understanding the will of God, and we will try to do good by our own strength.
[The text continues after the image.]
Two ways the Holy Spirit recharges us
We can read in the Bible that our spirits need to be renewed, replenished, strengthened, and refreshed by God and other Christians (Psalm 51:10; 1 Corinthians 16:18; 2 Corinthians 7:13). Therefore, there are two main ways in which the Holy Spirit recharges us spiritually:
- Through fellowship with each other. “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20, ESV). We have all experienced how a testimony can inspire and build faith, how having God-centered conversations with Christian friends can energize, how encouragement can lift us up, and how collective praise and prayer can feel like a refreshing bath. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ.
Going to a healthy church can, among other things, function like a meeting in which the appointed leader helps us keep in step with the Spirit and with one another. And that is key to maintaining inner peace.
- Through fellowship with God. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17, ESV). This is the same freedom we discussed earlier: freedom from the burden of the Law, from condemnation, and so rest from tiresome works to gain the approval of God. Thanks to Jesus, we can come before God’s throne freely. And when we come before God’s throne, we can thank Him, plead with Him, and hear His will for us.
Prayer is essential for power. Without prayer, we fall into temptation. Jesus said: “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41, ESV). Without prayer, even a spirit willing to obey God cannot remain watchful and triumph over the weak spots of the flesh.
We need to remain plugged in through the Holy Spirit to keep the fire going. Even though Jesus had tremendous spiritual power, He still set apart time with God. Sometimes, even when other people slept (Mark 1:35; Matthew 26:40-45; Luke 9:32), He sacrificed sleep in favor of prayer. This tells me how important and foundational fellowship with God is. It will provide a rest and peace that go beyond the rest and peace that sleep can give us. Paul wrote about this: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7, ESV).
What fellowship really means
The meaning of having fellowship seems straightforward, but it’s not. The word fellow in fellowship originates from the Old Norse félag, which, interestingly, means something like “laying one’s livestock together.” In Dutch, these words still sound similar: vee leggen.
Owned livestock was the primary source of wealth in those days. So the word fé later came to mean property and money, and it’s related to the English word fee. Félag indicated a financial partnership or joint venture. Later, the word ship was added to denote a state of being: the state of being partners. All of this indicates working together, communion, and agreement on what is perceived as valuable. This, under the umbrella of love, is what is expected of our fellowship with each other and with God.
Often, we don’t really spend quality time with each other or God. Instead of giving the other our full attention, we are distracted by what happens around us, notifications on our watch or phone, or our own racing thoughts. All of this prevents us from really hearing the other speak and connecting with them. As we saw in the previous episodes, we need to retreat to a desolate place to hear His whisper. This may mean going to a room and shutting the door, but it also involves quieting the mind to allow Him to speak. Filling your mind with constant noise, media, or appointments doesn’t help. Accepting Jesus’s invitation to spend time with Him requires carving out time from our busy schedules and ignoring desires that steer us away from Him.
Fellowship is also more than prayer or talking; it requires spending time together and involving one another in each other’s business, like friends do. Often, our “fellowship” with God looks more like reading Him a wishlist than spending quality time with Him. It lacks true connection, a connection that begins with love. When we always turn to God as a last resort, we should examine whether He is still our first love. What do we love more than God that stands in the way? He should be the Person we think about most, want to be with all the time, want to please most, and share our thoughts and feelings with.
One reason my husband and I have a wonderful relationship is that we communicate really well. We talk about everything, honestly and openly, and most of the time, we do it with love. It’s a two-way street. If I only talked about my needs and I never hugged him, told him I loved him, talked about what moves him, or shared my gratitude, the relationship would never flourish. It’s the same with God. We can tell Him what’s on our minds, but sometimes we just need to hear what moves Him, thank Him for who He is and what He does, crawl into His arms, and tell Him we love Him from the heart. It is in those moments when He shows us more of Himself, and our joy and peace increase.
Why sharing refreshes us
Sharing is part of this experience of fellowship. Sharing testimonies, sharing burdens, sharing joy, sharing resources, and most of all: sharing the Bread of Life. It doesn’t matter if you have a little or a lot. Sharing is an essential part of belonging to the Body of Christ.
The disciples shared the little food they had with Jesus. And then, He multiplied it so that they could feed the hungry crowds. In the context of replenishment, this seems counterintuitive: Doesn’t providing food to the crowds mean more work? Well, yes, it requires action, but it will also refresh. Through serving and sharing, you may become physically tired, but you will feel joyful because of what God is doing through you, and you will feel spiritually enriched. Jesus doesn’t ask us to work ourselves to the bone to provide for the poor. No, He creates in us an overflowing fountain; He lights a fire in our hearts (Jeremiah 20:9), and He gives words and insights so that we can share the Good News with those who need to hear it.
Beyond the miracle God is doing through us, making other people happy is something that makes us happy too. This is especially true when we do it through God, with God, and for God, as the disciples did. To do this, we dedicate what we have to Him: we offer Him our time, energy, money, and other resources so that He can multiply them and use all of us to feed the poor in spirit.
Then, when we bless others, we will be blessed: “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered,” as it says in Proverbs 11:25.
Biblical rest begins in His peace
So now, you know how we can find true Biblical rest. Ultimately, Jesus is the only one Who can fully restore and recharge us, physically, mentally, and spiritually. This way, only He gets the glory, and no work of ours can take the place of His grace and His peace. Our job is to remain in His peace, not to step outside of it and do our own thing. Then even our rest is fruitful and pleasing to God.
If you feel you have additional questions that have not been covered in these six episodes, leave them in the comments or contact me. Perhaps I will create another episode answering those questions.
I also realize that everyone’s situation is unique, so if you are a woman who feels the need for more practical guidance on how to incorporate these lessons into your life, I’d love to come alongside you. I’m opening up a limited number of international places for one-on-one Biblical coaching for women. Join the waitlist here. See you soon!
Find these articles helpful? Add me as a preferred source on Google.