5 Refreshing Benefits of Starting Afresh

Sometimes you really need to rest and start afresh to get better results for your plans.

Rest is something we are designed to do. God has both a purpose and a plan for it. So maybe it would be helpful to consider some of the benefits of rest.

1. Rest Re-Orients Our Thinking Patterns 
When we are weary and fatigued, it’s the perfect time for the enemy to sow his lies and weave a blanket of discouragement we want to curl up under.

Rest brings our thinking into focus and allows us to see clearly what God says about what we are facing, in His word and through His past faithfulness.

Rest brings the reality of God’s strength and provision into view. We need to remind ourselves that He is the victor. We need Truth so we can wield it against the enemy’s taunts. Rest enables us to see the devil as he really is: a liar, cheat, accuser and more.

2. Rest Refreshes Us 
Like a sip of cold water to the thirsty, we’ll never know how much we need rest until we put our feet up.

Worry and striving will fade away when we allow God to be our source for all things. When we give our mind and heart some wiggle room, we discover peace and the strength to open our hands to release the burdens that weigh us down.

3. Rest Recharges Our Batteries 
We can simply be worn out. Stress, worry, busyness, over-commitment — all of this wears us down. We need to recharge — and only resting can accomplish that. There comes a time when we have to just say, “That’s it. I am taking the time to rest.”

Times of rest are never wasted. God is God. He is at work even when we sleep. Resting allows for us to admit we need His strength.

4. Rest Helps Us to Refocus 
Fatigue skews our outlook until we are staring in the face of the Deadly-D’s:
Doubt
Discouragement
Defeat
Despair

Rest helps us to adjust our focus so we can see our situation more clearly. We gain perspective as we are quiet in God’s presence, immersed in His word and surrendered to His care.

5. Rest Revives 
Once we succumb to the weariness, our response to things to do or places to go is apathy. We don’t have the energy — our margin is worn thin and we would rather hibernate.

Rest revives us with the energy that we lack so that we can flourish and get excited about life again.

[written by Jeanne Doyon]

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