Rest As Purpose: Embracing God’s Intentional Design for Our Flourishing
WRITTEN BY BETTE DICKINSON
The rhythms of rest and work are intricately woven into the fabric of the created order, reflecting God's design for human flourishing. From the necessity of sleep at the end of each day to the dormant period that follows a harvest, daily and yearly rhythms of rest are embedded in nature.
In our modern industrial world, we are often driven by external measures of success, relentlessly pushing forward in a perpetual quest for progress and productivity. The prevailing mindset is to keep moving up and to the right, constantly bearing fruit, and avoiding any signs of decrease in output as they are perceived as failure. In this relentless pursuit of success, we tend to overlook the wisdom that the natural world has to offer us.
Plants, for instance, cannot be in a perpetual state of harvest. The transition into dormancy is crucial for their survival and flourishing. During this dormant phase, plants withdraw their energy from the leaves and channel it into their roots. This process allows them to conserve energy, storing it up for the upcoming season of bud break in the spring. It is in this resting period that they undergo healing, restoration, and rejuvenation, essential for preparing them to face the challenges of the next growing season successfully.
Rest is not a sign of weakness, but a necessary component of maintaining overall health and well-being for plants and humans alike. It provides an opportunity for recovery, both physically and mentally, allowing us to approach challenges with a refreshed mind and renewed focus.
From the necessity of sleep at the end of each day to the dormant period that follows a harvest, daily and yearly rhythms of rest are embedded in nature.
Discovering the Purpose of Rest
While we may find ourselves preoccupied with the busyness, activity, and celebrations during the harvest months of our lives, we must recognize that this season cannot last forever. Eventually, we need to redirect our energies inwards and downwards, embracing the slower pace of rest and introspection. In this blog, we will explore the profound connections between what happens during physical rest and our spiritual lives, uncovering four essential purposes of rest.
Conserving Energy:
Just after harvest, the plant channels all its remaining energy from the leaves into the roots, conserving energy for the upcoming growing season. This is critical for life to flourish. Similarly, embracing the rhythms of rest and slowing down allows us to conserve our energy and direct our focus inward toward deepening our roots in God. It is a time to refocus, renew our faith, and strengthen our connection with the true vine.
In a world that glorifies constant progress and activity, we often forget the art of slowing down. However, we are not machines; we are created beings in need of rest and restoration. What if, during seasons of rest, God is building up the energy within us to burst forth into new seasons of growth and fruitfulness? Is it possible that while rest may feel like a waste of time, God wants to give us the spiritual nourishment, strength, and endurance to face future challenges and growth that we cannot yet see?
2. Shedding the False Self
In the dormancy phase, vines shed their leaves and fruit, baring their true essence and identity. A vine does not cease to be a vine simply because it is not bearing fruit. Similarly, when we embrace seasons of rest and withdrawal, we shed all external measurements of success. In a culture that values constant productivity, this may feel counterintuitive, but it is in these moments of stillness that we can discover our authentic selves.
In the silence and solitude of rest, we may feel barren and unproductive, but it is here that we come to realize our inherent belovedness and identity in Christ, independent of our achievements. Like the vine, we remain who we are, beloved and cherished, even when we are not actively bearing fruit. In seasons of rest we can shed the false self, creating space for growth, spiritual awakening, and the unfolding of our true selves and creative potential.
3. Replenish and Repair
Just as adequate sleep provides physical and mental restoration, rest offers us an opportunity to replenish and repair our souls. Our soul goes through just as many strenuous conditions as the body–if not more so. We encounter frustrations, rejection, losses, and all kinds of suffering.
By intentionally embracing seasons of rest, we give God the space to heal and restore our souls. Rather than being like walking zombies, unable to be fully present, we can offer our most valuable selves to the world. Our bodies and souls require rest to recover, recharge, and regain the clarity needed to approach future challenges with renewed focus and energy. The process of replenishing and renewing is vital for our well-being and overall health.
4. Receiving Eternal Dreams
In moments of rest and surrender, God often reveals Himself through dreams and visions. When we cease striving and surrender our conscious and logical processes, our spirits awaken to new possibilities beyond our waking minds. This liminal space between conscious and unconscious, between heaven and earth, is where divine inspiration often finds its home. Embracing rest allows us to tap into this fertile ground of creativity and problem-solving.
Just as some of history's greatest innovators received their breakthroughs during moments of rest, we too can receive God's eternal dreams for our lives when we surrender control and open ourselves to divine revelation. By embracing rest, we position ourselves to encounter God's greater plan and align ourselves with His purpose for our lives.
God often reveals himself through dreams and visions in Scripture, when people are in a state of rest or sleep. Joseph, Daniel, the Apostle John; they weren’t working for it, they weren’t striving towards it, but the dreams were given as a gift—a picture of a heavenly reality, the true reality underlying all things. God’s visions and dreams come to us when we have fully surrendered.
It is in the not doing, in the ceasing of activity, where we discover the eternal wisdom lying dormant and hidden beneath all things.
Discovering Our Purpose In Rest
By embracing the dormancy seasons in our lives, we align ourselves with God's intentional design for our flourishing. Instead of resisting rest as a sign of failure, we recognize it as a vital component of growth and spiritual development. We come into our purpose.
God's invitation to rest is an invitation to embrace the natural rhythms of life, aligning ourselves with the created world and the divine design for our flourishing. Whether through intentional rest, meditation, leisurely walks, sleep, or mindfulness exercises, we can embrace the transformative power of rest to conserve energy, shed the false self, replenish and repair, and receive God's eternal dreams for our lives. In doing so, we align ourselves with the divine rhythm as he leads us toward a life of deep significance and purpose.
A Guided Meditation on Rest - A Gift from Bette!
Are you looking for a resource to help you enter into rest with God? Bette is offering a free video guided meditation on the painting, "Sabbath." Engage in this soulful practice that invites you to experience the beauty of rest, renewal, and divine connection.
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About the Author
Bette Dickinson is a prophetic artist, speaker, and author of the book, Making Room in Advent. Dickinson invites audiences to connect with God through visual parables of the spiritual journey in her ministry Awakening the Soul.
Bette earned her MDiv through Grand Rapids Theological Seminary and has worked with ministries like InterVarsity, World Vision, Infinitum, and Kensington Church to awaken the soul through beauty and wonder. Bette and her husband live in Traverse City Michigan with their two boys.
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