I’m not alone, though. According to the CDC (American Center for Disease Control), we Americans work more than anyone else in the Western World. Presumably, this is to pursue the American Dream. But for many of us, busyness overtakes the dream, and, in a strange twist, becomes the way we determine who is important. For the people of the world, this is terrible. For the people of God, it’s unthinkable.

“You should really just take a break.”

I remember when he said those words. Then, I remember the overwhelming urge to punch him… in the face.

“You have no idea how much pressure I’m under,” I thought. “If you carried the weight I carry, you’d never say such a thing.” The call to rest felt like just one more thing to do. Eventually, self-pity and self-aggrandizement partnered together to create a flurry of excuses.

But a few months later, my friend was right. I did crash. Stuck in the pit of a depression, I learned the hard way what my friend was hoping to show me in an easier way. Because I didn’t know how to stop in the middle of the work of life, I crashed.

I’m not alone, though. According to the CDC (American Center for Disease Control), we Americans work more than anyone else in the Western World. Presumably, this is to pursue the American Dream. But for many of us, busyness overtakes the dream, and, in a strange twist, becomes the way we determine who is important. For the people of the world, this is terrible. For the people of God, it’s unthinkable.

So here are three ways to overcome the temptation to resist the urge to ignore rest:

Realize You Need to Stop

Of course you’re busy. Let’s just agree to agree on that. But the Scriptures don’t demand our ceaseless work. In fact, that’s one of the main differentiating features of the God of the Bible.

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