🔥 Day 13: Rest Like Jesus
The Lie: Rest is weakness
The Truth Bomb: Rest is holy—it’s trusting that God’s got it
Read The Daily:
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.” – Genesis 2:2
Post by Taitlyn Dutey
American culture thrives on busyness. Schedules packed with practices, meetings, appointments, and deadlines leave little room for rest. And if I’m honest, I’ve fallen into the trap of measuring my worth by how much I can accomplish. If trophies existed for “doing the most,” I’d probably have a whole shelf.
But when I slow down enough to reflect, I’m reminded that this isn’t how Jesus lived. He moved through life at a pace that embraced interruptions. Think about it—many of His miracles happened because someone interrupted Him as He was going somewhere else. This idea of rest takes us all the way back to the beginning. In Genesis 2:2, after creating the world, God rested. Adam’s very first day on earth—day seven—was a rest day. Jefferson Bethke, in his book To Hell with the Hustle, points out that Adam started from a place of rest. He didn’t work to earn it; he worked from it.
When I was in college, I did a semester-long internship in Peru. Before I left, a friend gave me a note with these words: “Sometimes the holiest thing you can do is take a nap.” It sounded silly at the time, but during that season, I learned how true it was. Whenever I neglected true rest, I found myself stressed, overwhelmed, or physically sick.
“Sometimes the holiest thing you can do is take a nap.”
Our culture views rest as weakness, but God designed it to be holy. Rest isn’t about laziness—it’s about trusting that God is in control and you don’t have to carry everything on your own. When we prioritize rest, we allow God’s strength to sustain us instead of relying on our own. If we want to look more like Jesus, we need to embrace the slow rhythms of life and make rest a priority. So go ahead—take a breath, slow down, and maybe even take a nap. Rest isn’t weakness; it’s an act of trust. Let go, slow down, and let God carry the weight.
Prayer for the Day
God what are you showing me? What am I going to do about it?
God help me to see one person that I can serve through a kind word, random act of kindness, or simple gift today?
Make sure you complete the reading or comment today.
Read The New Testament In A Year
4 x 6 Plan | Read:Â John 5:30-47Â &Â James 5:13-20
I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me. Therefore, my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will. “If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid. But someone else is also testifying about me, and I assure you that everything he says about me is true. In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. But I have a greater witness than John—my teachings and my miracles. The Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never heard his voice or seen him face to face, and you do not have his message in your hearts, because you do not believe me—the one he sent to you. “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. “Your approval means nothing to me, because I know you don’t have God’s love within you. For I have come to you in my Father’s name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God. “Yet it isn’t I who will accuse you before the Father. Moses will accuse you! Yes, Moses, in whom you put your hopes. If you really believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But since you don’t believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?  John 5:30-47
Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops. My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. James 5:13-20