Resolve to rest

As the calendar turns to a new year, many of us resolve to do more — exercise more, achieve more, or simply fill our days with more activity. These ambitions reflect a culture of productivity and self-improvement but often come at the expense of something foundational: rest. In our fast-paced world, rest is easily overlooked or even devalued, yet it is one of the most transformative commitments we can make. 

When the Almighty God created, he established rhythms. “... There was evening and morning …” We should not be surprised to find our bodies operate on these rhythms. For an ancient Israelite, the first thing to do at the start of the day is to go to sleep. Rest first, then work. From a physiological standpoint, the most important rhythm to establish is sufficient sleep on a precise schedule. 

We all know proper exercise and nutrition are important (How are we doing those things?), but strangely we scoff at sufficient sleep. We have more important things to do, such as looking at screens which typically flood us with the opposite of “whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable.” 

God, the good Father, has commanded us to rest. I know the Sabbath is not the same as getting sleep at night, but I have found many similarities, and we disregard God’s instructions at our peril. From what I can find, every area of our physiology is negatively impacted by insufficient sleep. What would life be like if we got enough sleep? It is the mechanism of learning and muscle growth. It is critical to mental health and immune system function. Certainly some populations will struggle (for example,. parents of infants). But for others, I urge you to get enough sleep. 

The evil one does not want you to do anything that will make you better, so unsurprisingly when it comes time to go to bed, something inevitably comes up or you suddenly do not feel sleepy anymore (which probably has something to do with the screen you are looking at). Go to bed. Of course you won’t want to! That doesn't matter. Your Father is telling you to rest. Please obey him. It's for your own good and his glory.

As we embark on the new year, perhaps the most powerful resolution we can make is to embrace God’s invitation to rest — for the sake of both our bodies and our souls.

Dr. Justin Bland is chair and associate professor in the department of exercise and sport sciences. He holds a Ph.D. and is a certified exercise physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine.