Jen Oshman

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3 Things Rest Teaches Me

The world is not contingent on me. Nothing terrible happens on Thursdays (my current day of rest) when the emails go unsent, the texts don’t get a reply, the article doesn’t get edited, or the kids’ school forms don’t get signed. Work and the world move on without me. I am finite, and that is good.

The world—including me—is contingent on God. The Lord alone makes the sun rise, puts breath in my lungs, and holds the mountains in place. He alone is sovereign. I can take a day off because he does not. He is infinite and that is good.

Rest counterintuitively leads to better work. I have to re-convince myself every week that while taking a whole day off makes me feel like I will get behind, it actually leads to me having more energy, more creativity, and a greater desire to work hard at my calling when I step back in.

Whether you are stepping back in this morning, or preparing for rest this weekend, my prayer for you and me is that we would accept Jesus’s invitation to come. He will give us rest—even rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-30).

Happy Friday, friends. Our God reigns.