By Denton Hawk, with ChatGPT-5
In today’s America, exhaustion has become a badge of honor. We brag about pulling all-nighters, skip vacations “to stay ahead,” and measure our worth in hours worked rather than lives lived. Yet when one pauses long enough to look at Scripture, a startling truth emerges: even Jesus — the Son of God Himself — knew when to step away.
The Divine Example of Rest
The Gospel of Mark records that “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed” (Mark 1:35, NIV). Surrounded by crowds, miracles, and urgent human need, He still retreated into silence. Luke tells us, “He often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). The operative word is “often.” Rest was not an exception for Jesus; it was a rhythm.
In Mark 6, after the disciples return from preaching and healing, Jesus instructs them: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31). Notice that the command to rest is framed not as indulgence but as obedience — an essential part of service. Even God, after six days of creation, “rested on the seventh day from all His work” (Genesis 2:2). The Sabbath was not a divine suggestion but a divine law written into the order of creation itself.
The Idol of the 24/7 Grind
Contrast that sacred rhythm with our 21st-century ethos. We have replaced the Sabbath with the smartphone. Emails buzz at midnight; “urgent” messages arrive during family dinners; and “quiet places” have been colonized by screens. The pandemic blurred home and work so completely that many now live in perpetual semi-employment — always on call, never fully present.
Economists and sociologists warn of what psychologists already call “hustle culture burnout.” According to the American Psychological Association’s 2024 Work and Well-Being Survey, nearly three-quarters of U.S. workers reported feeling emotionally drained from work at least once in the previous month. Yet despite record fatigue, productivity has not soared. We are trading peace for performance and finding neither.
What Jesus Understood That We’ve Forgotten
When Jesus withdrew, He was not abandoning His mission. He was sustaining it. Solitude refueled His compassion, restored His discernment, and reminded Him of His Father’s will amid the crowd’s demands. The same principle applies to us: rest is not weakness but wisdom. It is the interval that gives meaning to the work.
To take rest seriously is to admit our limits — something modern culture despises but the Gospel exalts. In Matthew 11:28-30, Christ invites, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The Greek word for “rest,” anapausis, implies not mere inactivity but restoration, renewal of strength and soul. This is the rest that no weekend binge or caffeine surge can replicate.
Reclaiming the Sacred Rhythm
If we wish to rebuild lives that honor both God and our humanity, we must dethrone busyness and reclaim Sabbath — not as legalism but liberation. Take one day each week to stop producing, buying, or striving, and simply be. Walk. Pray. Sleep. Watch the sunrise. Do what Jesus did: withdraw.
Churches can model this by discouraging the glorification of “always serving.” Employers can honor it by setting true boundaries. Individuals can defend it by refusing to let their worth be measured by output. In doing so, we mirror the divine rhythm of creation itself — work followed by rest, motion balanced by stillness.
Jesus’ ministry changed the world, yet He still paused for prayer, for meals with friends, for solitude on the mountaintop. If the Son of God could rest, surely we can, too.
— Written by Denton Hawk, with assistance from ChatGPT 5