Isaiah 40:31 says, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will walk and not grow weary, they will mount up on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow faint.”
Waiting on the Lord is in no way an easy thing. As I wait, the trouble often becomes not trusting God’s timing as I wait on him, seeing bills coming in and not seeing the progress I expected, and I tend to take things into my own hands. I worry, get anxious, and scramble for things to be done my way instead of allowing God to work in my life which leads to more chaos, frustration and not following what God may have planned out for me. This doesn’t usually lead to resting, which is often when needs to happen and what I am being told to do.
I’ve recently talked about how God’s called me into a season of rest. My thought as God’s called me into a season of rest is, ‘why now, when I’ve got so much to do before the baby comes, I’ve got ideas to flush out, and I’m not sure my business will look the same in the next few months.’ Thinking through these thoughts makes it really hard to sit and rest and wait on God.
My need to figure out and plan life is causing me more anxiety and right now, what I should be doing and what I’m sometimes reluctantly working on sitting and waiting on God. It’s not easy, or simple. It doesn’t permit for pretty plans to be drawn up, but it’s a significant time of trusting God with what’s most important to me – my family and my business. And honestly, the last month or so I’ve struggled with illness affecting my thyroid and adrenals. In this season of rest, I keep reminding myself that God’s timing is perfect – he’s allowing me to take naps, give myself extra space to take care of myself, my family and my business so I can continue to lead and run them well. I need to rely on his strength, not my own.
Isaiah 40:31 has been a favorite since my first year at Bible camp in 1996. The metaphor it gives of an eagle soaring and rising up is important during this season and in business, I think we need the message as well. I told my friend the other day that business was a marathon, not a sprint and that in business, you need to rest and allow yourself to run and not grow weary. The whole chapter of Isaiah 40 is talking to Israelites about God giving comfort and strength to them. We are not able to do this on our own, and through the Lord’s strength, we are able to keep moving in life.
The NIV study notes from my Bible talk about how while we wait on God, he reveals his thoughts. When we take time to pause, we condition ourselves to hear from him. We are able to rest on the Lord and gain rejuvenation through our season, remembering where our strength to move forward comes from. I love this reminder and it makes so much sense in how I need to be moving forward at this time.
I want to pass on these thoughts with you because I’m not the only one who is being called into a season of rest right now. So how do you respond in your business to a calling of rest?
Listen. Follow God’s leading when it comes to resting in this time and place. He’s got your best interests in mind.
It’s for a reason and God’s not going to waste a season.
You never know what is coming, good or bad and resting and waiting on God will always lead to good things.
Rejuvenate while you can, how you can. Listen to this podcast for some tips on how to rest as a CEO because sometimes it’s really hard to do that.
Do what you feel is okay for your season. For me, the rest is still working, just not as much and not as hard as I expected to be working right now. I love my business and find rest in doing some of the activities that it involves.
Rest in the Bible isn’t being lazy, it’s active. Maybe for you it’s taking a walk or reading a book. For me, I’m giving myself more time to nap and do the activities that restore and rejuvenate my heart.
So my question for you after hearing me talk through all of this is: where do you stand on resting, even if it’s just weekly? And do you have advice for me? I’d love to hear it so please leave a comment below!
Because this is such a powerful topic, I’ve created a Biblical Rest Email Series. You can sign up here to get five daily emails on rest.
I’m struggling with this idea of a season of rest. When i google ‘a season of rest’ i come up with a very long list of bloggers, pastors, and theologians talking about it, but when i add ‘biblical justification for’, or ‘in scripture’, or ‘verse dealing with’, all i get are hits on the word “rest” in scripture.
Even in my Strong’s i can’t find anything about a season of rest.
In your article, the verse you reference says the opposite of a season of rest, and it seems the only justification you have is from study notes in an NIV.
I really want to know more and incorporate this into my walk if its something God intends for my life if you can help point me in the right direction.
Thanks.
Hi Tim,
I just made a few updates to the blog to hopefully alleviate some confusion and I’m also going to write a follow-up blog to this one.
After talking with my brother who is a seminary student for his Masters of Divinity, we’ve agreed that sometimes life calls for longer rest breaks. While we don’t see this necessarily written in the Bible, we know that God rested for a day, but we don’t know the longevity of that time. I think it’s also necessary to listen to God and see if it is something you should do if you are able to do it. I know that following the Sabbath is so beneficial and that resting one day a week is great. Again, sometimes we are unable to take that dedicated rest time and it’s something to talk to the Lord about.
I think if you re-read my blog on how Isaiah 40 is important for my rest time, I added that I need to rest on the Lord’s strength for that season and it was an important verse for that time.
I hope this helps! If you have any further questions, feel free to email me at dmr@daniellemroberts.com.
Blessings,
Danielle
I don’t really understand what a season of rest is. Is it taking time to sit in his presence and study. Is it taking time off from work like a sabbatical I surely hope not I can’t afford that. . resting in God surely makes me feel that spending time with God in his presence makes me want more and more of him. I would love that. But I also have to take care of family which means I have to work.
Hi Yvette,
A season of rest can be a number of things. For me, it was cutting back on what I was doing for work. I think if it’s increasing the amount you’re spending with Jesus, that’s a great way to do it. Yes, we absolutely need to take care of our families and I’m not saying don’t work. I think it’s important to follow God’s lead with this and ask him how you should be resting. Maybe take away the time you’d spend on your phone to instead spend time with him, or cut out an extra activity. Maybe it’s taking a day during the weekend and spending it with Jesus, either in prayer and meditation or reading the Bible. I cut back on a lot of extras in life so I’d have time in my schedule to spend with Jesus, or taking care of what he wanted me to focus on in life. I hope this helps and if you have any further questions, let me know!
Blessings,
Danielle
Thank you so much for this! I am currently in a season of rest. I am so used to working 50+ hours a week and just recently God began to slow things down. The slow down didn’t come instantly, like a punishment. It was gradual and nice.It is also over in July, so I am enjoying it. I sleep in, read my bible more, and pray. I am able to hear God and my inner thoughts. It is so peaceful. I know this isn’t going to last long and I’m going to have to go back to the long days, so I thank God for loving me enough to slow me down. We all need rest.
I’m so glad to hear that! It is such a blessing to have time. Thank you for the comment! It’s nice to hear feedback.