Banish the Guilt: God's Divine Pattern for Rest

Summary

Do you feel guilty when you rest? As Christian women, we often struggle with the deeply ingrained idea that our worth is tied to constant productivity, pushing us toward burnout. In this thought-provoking episode of the Arise, Women of God podcast, host Tamara K. Anderson and guests Kari Anjewierden and Wendi Christensen dive into the biblical perspective of rest. They share personal challenges and powerful insights about releasing the generational pattern of overwork and embracing God’s design.

The conversation starts right at the Book of Genesis, revealing that God's divine pattern for rest was established from the very first day of creation—a cycle of light and darkness, work and renewal. We explore the profound reasons behind the weekly Sabbath and how it’s meant to refresh your body, mind, and spirit. Wendi beautifully distinguishes between mere sleep and intentional, present rest, while Kari highlights how stepping away can bring a renewed perspective to our work, much like God reviewing His creation.

Ultimately, we discover that God's divine pattern for rest is not a luxury but a mandate for a healthy, vibrant life. The key, as the guests conclude, is turning to Christ as the ultimate source of rest, peace, and renewal (Matthew 11:28). If you’re ready to let go of the guilt and fully receive the gift of God's divine pattern for rest, tune in for practical steps and spiritual truths that will help you align your life with His perfect design.

Takeaways

• The societal expectation of constant productivity often leads women to feel guilty about taking necessary rest, which is counterproductive to their well-being.
• Biblically, rest is not merely a suggestion but a divine mandate, illustrating that God Himself took time to rest after creation, setting a precedent for us.
• Our understanding of rest must evolve; it encompasses not only physical sleep but also emotional and spiritual rejuvenation, allowing us to engage more fully in our divine purpose.
• Recognizing seasonal patterns in our lives can aid in understanding when to labor vigorously and when to embrace rest, thus enhancing our overall productivity and spiritual health.

Transcript

Tamara K. Anderson

00:00:00.560 - 00:00:19.600

Ladies, do you ever feel guilty about resting? I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel we have a challenge with that, that we have to keep working really hard to prove our worth.

Well, stay tuned because we are going to talk about this from a biblical perspective today and see what we can learn.

Intro/Outro

00:00:22.720 - 00:01:15.320

Are you a woman who knows God is calling you to something more, but you're unsure where to start or how to grow it into something impact? You are not alone, and you're in the right place.

Welcome to the Arise Women of God podcast, a show for Christian women who feel called to shine his light and step into their divine purpose.

Each week, you'll hear stories of faithful women, both from the Bible and today, who heard God's voice and chose to say yes even when it felt uncomfortable or uncertain. To step with faith into the unknown.

You'll walk away with encouragement, spiritual insight, and practice steps to follow those holy promptings in your own life. So let's arise together as women warriors of light. Let's do it God's way. God's strong.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:01:19.480 - 00:01:30.760

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Arise Women of God podcast. I'm your host, Tamara K Anderson. And joining me today are two wonderful women, Kari Anjewierden. Kari, thanks for being here today.

Kari Anjewierden

00:01:31.600 - 00:01:34.800

Thanks for giving me the opportunity. I'm glad to be here.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:01:35.600 - 00:01:40.160

And also we have Wendi Christensen. Wendi, thanks again for joining us.

Wendi Christensen

00:01:40.400 - 00:01:41.760

Always love being here.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:01:42.320 - 00:02:17.360

All right, guys, so today we're going to talk about this concept of rest. And I think we as women especially, have a big challenge with this. I was talking with Kari before we jumped on just about kind of the history of.

Of society as a general rule. For centuries, you know, we've had this pattern of no electricity. And so we just kind of went with the day and night and week.

And I think we were probably better at resting than we used to be. I don't know. Do you guys struggle with this concept of rest? Thoughts, Kari?

Kari Anjewierden

00:02:17.520 - 00:03:00.740

Oh, man. This is something that has been a lifelong challenge for me.

I think mine started because my dad's a night owl, so I became a night owl and going to bed early, like, why would I want to do that, right? Because maybe there were other things that I wanted to do in a day.

And then as I became a mom, then it was the struggle of, you know, babies are up early, so I'm up early. But in order to get anything done, I was up past a decent bedtime and trying to figure out how do I get the rest that I need?

Because I always felt like I was Dragging myself wherever I went. So definitely that is something that I've struggled with.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:03:02.180 - 00:03:03.620

Wendi, any thoughts on this?

Wendi Christensen

00:03:03.780 - 00:04:39.920

Yeah, and I was just trying to think of. I think there's two different things when you think of rest.

I also think of sleep, and I think they're actually two different things, because sleeping definitely is resting. But sometimes it's a challenge to just rest. And I think for me, I know a lot of people who. A lot of people struggle with sleep.

I'm fortunately one of those that can. Like, I lay my head down and I'm out pretty quickly. And I'm so thankful for that because I know a lot of people don't get to experience that.

But for me, resting has been hard because I grew up with my situation with parents who. They grew up on farms. Right. You put a lot of worth in your value into work, and you had a lot of value if you were a hard worker.

In my family, if you were a hard worker, then you had a lot of worth and value. And so I started to see rest as a negative, that if I was resting, that meant I wasn't being productive, I wasn't good enough.

And so, yeah, that's been a struggle to be able to rest. And I kind of had to talk myself into, it's okay to just sit here and not fold laundry and not do anything and just watch a movie and be present.

Be present with who? You know, my kids or my husband or whatever. To me, that's a different kind of rest than just sleeping rest. And sometimes I.

Sometimes we're horrible at sleeping rest, too. Like, your body needs sleep. It needs rest. It needs downtime. It has to have downtime. And it took me a while to realize that and to be okay with that.

So I'm so glad we're talking about this topic because I do think we as a society, and especially women, we do struggle with rest time.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:04:40.740 - 00:04:40.980

Wow. Well, I was really surprised when God inspired me. This is what we need to talk about. I'm like, okay. And it was so funny.

I went to kind of type up some notes around it, you know, look at Bible verses surrounding it. And I actually had, like, this almost panic feeling hit me, and I'm like, oh, God, is it? Because I also have a problem with this.

And God is like, yep, Tamara, that's one of the reasons, you know, and so if you feel this way, you're not alone. Just know that I had to kind of pray it out with God and just say, okay, I obviously have a challenge with this. Help me to be able to overcome this.

Sometimes we. We have these patterns that are passed down from our ancestors or we're taught by our parents. This is what our worth and value is attached to.

And so I started looking at that, you know, releasing that pattern, asking God to help me release that pattern and to learn the pattern that he wanted me to learn. And so that's kind of the basis of where we are with this, this podcast today.

And so he took me clear back to the creation, and I saw it differently than I ever had before.

You know, if you go back to Genesis, chapter one, like, for example, verse five, first day of creation, and God called the light day and the darkness night, and the evening and the morning were the first day. And that repeats after every cycle. And I always just kind of skip over that part. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Great, great, great.

And God was like, hey, Tamara, notice that there was a period of darkness, a period of rest from the very beginning, that daily cycle of rest. And I was like, oh. Because I always skipped to the. That the end of the creation when he created everything. And then he rested.

And I was like, oh, there's a daily rest, there's a weekly rest, there's a seasonal rest. And so these are the things that I was kind of that God taught me. As I was looking at this pattern, I'm like, oh, my goodness.

From the very, very, very beginning, rest has been a part of creation. It's a part of life. And this is the way God meant it to be. And so I've almost been thinking that part of this in incorrect pattern of thinking.

This does not come from God. This comes from the adversary. He wants us to work, work, work, work, work, work. Oh, it's nighttime, but I'm going to burn the midnight oil tonight.

And then the next night. And then the next night. And then we wonder why we're falling apart. Do you know what I mean?

We're just like, oh, because we're not following God's divine pattern of resting. Anyway, so let me read this and then we'll open it for discussion in Genesis, chapter two.

This is the Sabbath, he says, and on the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made, and rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because that in it he had rested from all his work, which God created and made and sanctified.

It means. It's derived from a Hebrew word that means to set apart hollow or make holy. And so he had a day that was set apart.

It was different from the rest, and it was made holy. And we read when they. When he gives the Ten Commandments and Re emphasizes this. Go to Exodus 23.

After he gave the Ten Commandments, it says, Six days shalt thou do work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest. And here's the reason why he says that thou may be refreshed. So that is the purpose. We need time to rest so that we rise refreshed.

So I'm just going to open this for thoughts and ideas and comments. Wendi, let's start with you, and then we'll go to Kari.

Wendi Christensen

00:08:31.800 - 00:09:49.630

Well, I actually love what you were saying in the beginning. Like, he's creating these days. And you're right. Like on that first day, there was light and day. And what do we do?

I was thinking of, like, what do we do? Well, as it becomes night, our bodies naturally just start shutting down and we sleep. And why do we sleep? Like, why do we need sleep?

Every person needs sleep. To be a healthy, human functioning being, you need to have sleep. Like, everybody has to go to bed and sleep, right?

If they don't sleep, you become psychotic. Your brain actually produces psychosis and it doesn't make sense and things can't flow. Right.

And if people are without sleep for, like, especially when you start getting past the 72 hours, like 24, and then 48 and 72, when they start lacking sleep that long, you become psychotic. And so your bodies are actually designed and programmed to have sleep.

So it was interesting as you were talking about that I was like, thinking of the process of, yeah, our bodies have to shut down at night and just start, like, get our battery recharged.

It's a way to recharge our battery is to calm and relax at night, to sleep at night, so that we can start the next day, which is probably what God did. I mean, we know metaphorically.

I don't. We don't know if it's a real week or not, right? But that's kind of how we see it.

But he probably did have that period of like, okay, I did this today, pause, and then tomorrow, and then pause until he gets to that seventh day when it's a whole different day than the rest of the week. But he still needed to pause and reflect on everything. So I was just like, wow, that's really.

Our bodies really mimic almost the creation of what they need and how we need to function. I know for me, if my Sabbath day isn't spent in a place of. If I don't get that true rest and Focus.

Where I feed not only my body, but I feed my spirit and my soul is refreshed. Then I feel like I start my week off harried, like disorganized. My week doesn't go quite as well.

I'm not as prepared, I'm not as planned, because I haven't had that day of rest. And I think that day of rest really does rejuvenate and refresh and recharges your batteries, really. Just like a cell phone.

It has to be recharged anyways. I don't know. That was just a thought. I'll go to Kari, too, and then I'll probably have more thoughts.

Kari Anjewierden

00:11:02.200 - 00:14:54.010

I read a book by somebody on sleep, and they were saying that when you get past those, the 72 hours, like, if you go into a week or two weeks without sleep, it can even cause death. Like, that is how much our body needs it. So I loved you bringing that up. But some of the things that hit me kind of surprised me, actually.

First off, from the very beginning, he's giving us an example of a pattern that he wants us to follow. And like you, Tamara, I haven't always looked at the day part of that, but truly, he gave us light and dark.

And you think about before electricity, once it was dark, you may have a candle, but candles were expensive. So you just go to sleep. What else do you have to do, right in the dark?

And now with our days, pretty much 24 7, you can have light if you want to have light. And so being able to take that time to let your body rejuvenate and renew is the word that just keeps coming back.

And I think God loves that renewal, right? The Savior loves renewal. That's. That's through his atonement. He is able to renew us through his atonement.

And one of the questions that came to me when I was thinking about the seventh day, and he sanctified it because he had rested from his work. So it's almost like because he took the time to rest, he was able to sit back and look at his creations.

Did he gain a different perspective from that experience? To rest, to step back, to take a minute, to just look at everything and go, oh, yeah, that's good. That's good. That's good, right?

That was part of his example to us, was that sometimes we do need to step away from something and come back. My daughter right now, I was talking to her earlier today. Her husband is in medical school, and he's studying right now for one of his exams.

That is a pretty Critical exam. And so he studies a lot. And she just was talking about how, oh, I'm afraid that our kids are taking too much of his time.

And I said to her, could it be also, though, that he will do better on a test because he has taken some time to do something different than to just study all the time for this exam. And maybe he'll do better because he had a chance to step away and then come back and to see things with new eyes and to really focus better.

And maybe that's part of it, is that once we've rested, it gives us the opportunity to see things with new eyes, to organize different, to make a plan different, to be more intentional in a different way. Anyway, those are just some of the thoughts that I had. But one of the other was, this is across the board for everyone.

It does not matter gender, race, any of that. Even creature, right? All creatures need rest, depending on, you know, whether they're nocturnal or not.

Some sleep during the day, some sleep at night, but everything needs rest. Even as you were saying, Tamara, with the farming and whatever, the ground needs rest. When you think about.

My parents were both, you know, came from farming families, too. And when you have that fall harvest and then the winter time to just let the earth sit and renew.

So he doesn't just do it with us, but he's doing it with every creation that he made. And that is significant to me.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:14:54.490 - 00:16:18.380

Oh, I love that.

I love that you brought in the pattern of the seasons, because that was something I thought of, too, is that, you know, we'll have seasons of life that are really, really busy, like spring, summer, super busy, keeping everything. And then the harvest season, preparing it, you know, and then, okay, winter, we can rest. Right? But my life mirrors that a lot in a lot of ways.

I'll get something that God needs me to do, and it will require a whole bunch of time and energy. And then I'll have a little break, and I feel like I need to collapse, you know? Breathe deeply, Tamara. You can do it.

But we need those seasons of rest, too, that life goes in seasons. But I think it's important that we have all three. The daily rest, the weekly rest, and then the seasonal rest.

And to learn from the scriptures, this is okay. And that if we're feeling guilty for resting, that does not come from God, Right?

That God has taught us from the beginning it is okay to work during the day and rest at night. So time for work, time for rest, out of time. Let's wrap it up.

Any final thoughts or takeaways maybe about how we can best apply, apply this today, especially if we have a pattern in our family or we notice it in ourselves. Like, oh, I have a struggle with this, Wendi, let's kick it off with you.

Wendi Christensen

00:16:18.860 - 00:20:07.490

Yeah. And I was just going to say really quickly, God designed our bodies to rest. If we weren't meant to rest, we wouldn't sleep or need sleep. Right.

If he, if he intended for us to be creatures that were constantly going, constantly doing, constantly moving, he would not have designed our bodies to need sleep. He would have just been like, oh no, let's not create them with the need to sleep at night because I need them to go 24 7. But that's not true.

That's not a truth. He created us with the need, the function to not die. We have to sleep. And so I think there was a clear message there that I do need you to sleep.

It is important for you to rest.

And then when you're looking at it through the seasons, like you were saying, the daily or the weekly or you have those seasons of life, when you're a kid, life looks different than when you're an adult or maybe you're an empty nester and you're retired. That rest is going to look very different in whatever season that you're in.

And I think it's being able to, I guess, pause and go, what is it that the Lord needs me to learn from my season of doing and being and resting? What does he also need me to learn for my season of rest right now? Because, you know, my dad, my dad's older and he was a hard, hard worker.

But it's kind of nice to now see him being able to rest. You know, where he's, he's retired and he's actually in his 80s.

And to see him being okay with not being at work all the time or checking on things all the time and in the doing all the time and that he still has worth and value just in the resting and not being constantly busy. I mean his, his busyness is in different ways now.

It's usually giving advice to, he's such a good advice giver and blessing, you know, his grandchildren and his children in different ways.

And so I think it's just finding peace within ourselves with what season am I in right now and how can I even look to the Lord to see what is the best way for me to rest right now? Because if I'm a brand new mom with a little baby that's not resting and sleeping, that's going to be that's going to look very differently, right?

And so just to remember that different seasons are going to bring also different rest and different ways that we rest. Because when you're a new mom, it's like you. I remember for me, with a mom of twins, I just caught sleep whenever I could.

They went down for a nap, I went down for a nap. So. But that was my. That was my true rest. And sometimes it's also, I think, emotional pain. Like, sometimes that rest can be.

I gotta work through some of those emotional things to find some peace and to get to a place of peace. And I think it's just remembering that the Lord truly does want us to have rest.

The Scripture I love that Christ's invitation to rest in Matthew 11:28. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

I love that scripture because the rest isn't just sleep, but it's also from those burdens we carry, those trials, those struggles, the challenges, that he's also in those moments with us as well, and that it's okay to find rest in those moments and from those seasons in our life, and that he really does want us to find that peace and that healing and that it all comes through Him. Christ is really the answer to everything in finding that rest. He's. He's the answer in finding the work and getting to it and doing it.

And he's also the answer in finding the rest and the peace and the comfort that carries us in those moments where it's like, I can't do it anymore. And he's like, that's okay. I've got you.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:20:08.130 - 00:20:10.850

I love that. Thank you so much. Kari?

Kari Anjewierden

00:20:11.410 - 00:21:18.390

I have discovered in my life that Christ is my rest. Yes, I can sleep. Yes, I can take a break and. And he can let me know when to do that.

But truly, when my life is in chaos, when my life is out of control, to turn things over to him and to let him, well, 29. Take my yoke upon you. Learn of me. I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. His yoke is easy, his burden is light.

And that truly is the answer just to go to him, return to him, renew that relationship with him, so that he can help bring that rest, that comfort. One of the words when I was looking up the word rest was abide. Let him abide with you.

That is where true rest comes, is when he truly abides with you.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:21:19.990 - 00:22:13.530

I love that you brought that. Abide in that is so, so beautiful because I Think you're right. If we feel an imbalance in ourselves.

Just like Tamara checking in as she was working on planning this podcast. And all of a sudden, I start to get really anxious around the word rest. I'm like, oh, you need me to work on this, don't you?

But the good news is, if we're listening, he can point these things out to us and he can help us solve them. He can help us bring that back into alignment. You're struggling with this right now. You know what? You're right. I am. But guess what? I got you.

I can help you, teach you how to look at this my way. And we can find that pattern in the scriptures. And I love that we can find the pattern in the scriptures.

Like, all of a sudden I'm like, now I know if I feel guilty, it's not coming from God. And I can just say, get the hand, Satan. It's time for Tamara to rest, you Know, and call on God to help Me to be able to rest. Because, hello, Perimenopause has been a beast as far as Tamara's real sleeping goes. But that's okay.

I'm figuring it out one step at a time, and I'm learning to lean on the Lord in a different way because it's a different season of life for me. Any final thoughts?

Kari Anjewierden

00:22:32.330 - 00:22:32.650

Just I'm grateful for the gift of rest. It truly is a gift.

Wendi Christensen

00:22:36.250 - 00:23:05.840

Yeah. And I just love that, that we've been able to tie it back to the Savior, that really it is through him we find rest.

And it's no coincidence that, you know, your Sabbath day is about worshiping Him. Well, why do we need to. Because I think we need to remember who's at the core of helping us to find true rest.

And it gives us a chance to focus on that. So that helps me to see my Sabbath day and that day of rest in a whole new light, to be honest.

Tamara K. Anderson

00:23:06.240 - 00:23:44.080

All right, friends, well, thank you for joining us today. This has been wonderful to be able to talk about rest, and I feel to leave you with a few questions for you to ponder.

I invite you to go to God and ask him, where can I do better with resting daily, weekly? What does your Sabbath look like? Are you observing it? Is there anything you need to tweak? He'll let you know. Right.

And then seasonally, how can I do better in periods of work and in periods of rest? And if you're in a period of rest, resting without feeling the guilt, how do I do that? Because he can help us navigate that.

Intro/Outro

00:23:44.080 - 00:24:41.730

As well, thanks for tuning in to the Arise Women of God podcast, brought to you by Women warriors of Light.

If you're feeling unsure how to move forward in your calling or just tired of doing it alone, visit womenwarriorsoflight.com you'll find resources, accountability, and a community of women who get it. Sometimes the calling feels bigger than you. That's when you need steady reminders of the powerful God who called you.

Subscribe now for weekly inspiration and the courage to keep going. Because with him, nothing is impossible. And you're not the only one. God is calling that friend on your heart right now. Share this episode with her.

Your small act of obedience could be the breakthrough she's been praying for. Until next time. May you arise, walk God's way, and stand God strong.