Stop Glorifying Exhaustion - Even Jesus Rested
Being Constantly Exhausted Is Not Proof That You Are More Committed to God
We have talked about stewardship of the body.
We have talked about appetite.
We have talked about movement.
Now we need to confront something our culture, and sometimes even the Church, has learned to celebrate, EXHAUSTION.
“I'll sleep when I'm dead.”
“I don't have time to rest.”
“There's too much work to do.”
“God's assignment can't wait.”
Some of us wear exhaustion like a badge of honor.
Yet since God designed your mortal body to require rest, refusing to rest is not automatically evidence of dedication.
Sometimes it is evidence that you have ignored the limitations God Himself placed in your mortal body.
Mark 6:31 (AMPC) “And He said to them, Come away by yourselves to a deserted place, and rest a while-for many were [continually] coming and going, and they had not even leisure enough to eat.”
Don't rush past that!
There was ministry to do.
There were people who needed them.
There were demands everywhere.
AND JESUS STILL TOLD THEM TO REST.
Jesus did not say, “If you were more spiritual, you wouldn't be tired.”
He recognized that His disciples had been pouring out and needed time to recover.
And Jesus Himself demonstrated it.
Mark 4:38 (AMPC) “But He Himself was in the stern [of the boat], asleep on the [leather] cushion; and they awoke Him and said to Him, Master, do You not care that we are perishing?”
JESUS SLEPT.
The Son of God did not treat the physical need for sleep as spiritual weakness.
So why do we?
There is a dangerous kind of pride that whispers, “Everything depends on me.”
No, it doesn't.
God was God before you woke up this morning.
God will still be God while you sleep tonight.
Psalm 127:2 (AMPC) “It is vain for you to rise up early, to take rest late, to eat the bread of [anxious] toil-for He gives [blessings] to His beloved in sleep.”
There is a difference between working diligently and living perpetually depleted.
There is a difference between sacrifice during a demanding season and making chronic exhaustion your permanent lifestyle.
There is a difference between occasionally losing sleep because life requires it and continually refusing to respect your body's need for restoration.
REST IS NOT LAZINESS.
Laziness refuses responsibility.
Rest prepares you to return to responsibility.
And stewardship means paying attention when your body is repeatedly telling you, “Something is wrong.”
Persistent exhaustion, significant changes in sleep, or other concerning symptoms should not simply be spiritualized or ignored. Do what you reasonably can to develop healthy rest habits, and when something does not seem right, make responsible use of appropriate healthcare available to you.
Praying about your health does not require ignoring information that could help you care for it.
Remember this, GOD KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT YOU CANNOT DO AND WHAT YOU SIMPLY REFUSE TO DO.
Some circumstances make adequate rest extremely difficult. Parents caring for infants know this. Caregivers know this. People working multiple jobs know this. People dealing with illness, pain, emergencies, or demanding seasons know this.
This teaching is not condemnation for circumstances outside your control.
It is a challenge concerning the choices that are within your control.
If you have time to scroll for hours, yet claim you have no time to sleep, that's a stewardship question.
If entertainment routinely keeps you awake while your body is begging for rest, that's a stewardship question.
If you continually overload your schedule because saying “no” makes you uncomfortable, that's a stewardship question.
And if you believe everything will collapse whenever you stop, THAT MAY BE A TRUST QUESTION.
Your body needs nourishment.
Your body needs movement.
YOUR BODY ALSO NEEDS REST.
You don't become more spiritual by unnecessarily running God's temple into the ground.
Sometimes stewardship means getting up and moving.
SOMETIMES STEWARDSHIP MEANS LYING DOWN AND SLEEPING.
You can pray tomorrow.
You can work tomorrow.
You can minister tomorrow.
You can serve tomorrow.
And perhaps you will do all of them better because you stopped treating exhaustion like a spiritual achievement.
Questions For Today
Are you truly sacrificing for God's assignment, or have you made exhaustion an identity, ignored the body's need for rest that God Himself designed, and called it dedication?
And if Jesus could sleep while there was still work to be done, what makes you believe everything depends on you staying awake?
If You Have Ears To Hear, Then Hear It!
I pray for you each and every day.
All God's Best!
Karl McKinnie
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