Adventism, coming out of a Puritan and Methodist background, has a strong work ethic (see Prov. 6:6-8; Eccl. 9:10; Col. 3:17). We work hard, diligently. Our work ethic includes showing up on time, not doing personal business during work, giving our best to the Master.
Even on Sabbath we are often busy with ministry. We may even “humble brag” to each other about how busy we are and how hard we are working.
Our work ethic may even be a witnessing opportunity. When I worked in the public school system, a colleague commented on my productivity. When I shared the Adventist health message and lifestyle, the response was “Stop doing that! You’re making the rest of us look bad!” Dare to be a Daniel, right?
Even so, from time to time in my life God has provided reflection opportunities for me to consider and reset the rhythms of my life. Recently after an initial bout of part flu and part COVID-19, I found myself fighting the brain fog that can come with or after flu symptoms. I experienced the fatigue and depression that comes with not recognizing your brain and its diminished capacity.
This experience provided me with an opportunity for significant reflection, including considering what practices may have contributed to my lowered immune system. And in my contemplation I came to the conclusion that I need a rest ethic to complement my work ethic. A set of rest practices to counterbalance my drivenness. A mindset of rest that grows my dependence on God. I pray that the reflections I share here may be helpful as we learn together to rest in God.
Rest as a Mindset
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).
Have you ever wondered, Where is the easy yoke? Have you also wondered where the “rest for your soul” is? Can we experience it this side of heaven?
When I started working at Andrews University in 2011, I reread Ellen White’s book Education as preparation to return to Adventist education, and found a quote I have returned to again and again during the past decade.
“To every man” is given “his work” (Mark 13:34, KJV), the work for which his capabilities adapt him, the work that will result in greatest good to himself and to his fellow men, and in greatest honor to God. Thus our business or calling is a part of God’s great plan, and, so long as it is conducted in accordance with His will, He Himself is responsible for the results.“We are labourers together with God” (1 Cor. 3:9, KJV), and “our part is faithful compliance with His directions. Thus there is no place for anxious care. Diligence, fidelity, caretaking, thrift, and discretion are called for. Every faculty is to be exercised to its highest capacity. But the dependence will be, not on the successful outcome of our efforts, but on the promise of God.”1
The foundation of my rest ethic is a realization that God takes responsibility for the results of my work. Incredible! And this promise is not just for church workers. Each of us is given our work, which provides an opportunity to bless others and honor God.
Think of Joseph in slavery, working for Potiphar, and the Lord blessing his work (Gen. 39:2). A rest mindset begins with letting go of the urge to control the outcome and cooperating with God, laboring side by side with Him.
As Pastor Taurus Montgomery shared in his farewell sermon to Pioneer Memorial church on December 23, 2023: “Don’t worry about the why or the how, just obey what God wants you to do.” Rest begins with a mindset of trusting and obeying.
God calls us to think and reflect, to listen to His leading and prompting in a review of our work.
Microbreaks
“The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’ Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king” (Neh. 2:4, NIV).
Building rest into my workday means taking microbreaks. A recent Fast Company article suggested several strategies successful people use to manage work intensity, including:
- Instead of giving 100 percent, work at an 85 percent intensity.
- After a presentation or work session, take 60 seconds to reflect.
- Use the 555 model: work for 55 minutes and take five minutes of rest.
- Take eight breaks per day.2
In 2022 a company in Japan decided to give nonsmokers an extra six days of vacation because they don’t take smoke breaks.3 The business world recognizes the productivity impact of taking small breaks.
As believers, we have even more compelling reasons to take microbreaks, to take time to listen to the Holy Spirit, to talk to God about our work. Nehemiah provided an example for us:
“In the crowds of the street, in the midst of a business engagement, we may send up a petition to God and plead for divine guidance, as did Nehemiah when he made his request before King Artaxerxes. A closet of communion may be found wherever we are. We should have the door of the heart open continually and our invitation going up that Jesus may come and abide as a heavenly guest in the soul. . . . We may keep so near to God that in every unexpected trial our thoughts will turn to Him as naturally as the flower turns to the sun.”4
And yes, this applies to our secular work as well. “Nothing that in any way concerns our peace is too small for Him to notice.”5 Nothing! Yes, “I need Thee every hour.” Day by day, moment by moment, we can lift our hearts to God to ask for help in our work. Those of us who are knowledge workers can put space between tasks and conversations to take a few moments to check in with our heavenly Father. Those of us who are engaged in physical labor can regularly take time to talk to God. Instead of turning to our phones or email when we have a free moment or are having trouble concentrating, we can lift our hearts to heaven.
In Times of Overload
“Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:38).
Sometimes, no matter how we try to trust in God, manage our work, and take microbreaks, our work still becomes overwhelming. We feel buried. It seems impossible to catch up. What then?
Notice that Jesus doesn’t tell us to do more when we see more work to do. He says to pray for more laborers.6 Remembering that the results of our work depend on God, we can tell Him about how overwhelmed we are. Crazy busy times are the most important times to slow down. To wait and talk to God more instead of doing the first solution that pops into our minds. To bring the pile of work to God for wisdom and advice.
When I first started working at Andrews University, my mom, a professor, taught me a beautiful strategy. I use it most often in very busy times. I open up my email or task list, and ask God which item I should do first. And then I just work systematically through the situations that He brings to my mind. Then I can rest confidently that He is working on the items that I didn’t get to yet. We can claim this verse as a promise: “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left” (Isa. 30:21).
Silence
“Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).
Another essential aspect to rest is ensuring we have time for silence in our lives. Think about it.Do you fill every waking moment with audio and visual input? Radio. TV. Scrolling on phones.Games on phones. Endlessly checking news, email, social media.When do we have time to listen to the Holy Spirit? When do we have space in our lives to hearGod’s nudging and conviction?
In one of my favorite Desire of Ages chapters Ellen White writes, “When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God.”7
Take stock of your weekly routine. Yes, daily devotional time is one way to have this quiet time. Where else can you find silent time in your week? Driving to work. Friday evening. Sabbath afternoon. While walking. Have a talk with God about your routine. He will give you ideas to find silent time if you ask Him.
Sleep
“He gives His beloved sleep” (Ps. 127:2).
Do you wake up at 2:00 a.m. with a work problem on your mind? Do you have trouble going back to sleep? So do I. Lately I’ve been reading how science is beginning to scratch the surface of all the many blessings God packed into sleep.8 Health advocates encourage us to spend an extra hour in bed to actually achieve our intended sleep goal.9
But what if we wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep? Sometimes we are awake because something is running through our minds over and over. It may be a storm of our own causing or not. But we can turn to Jesus to save us from the trials that keep us awake at night.
“However fierce the tempest, those who turn to Jesus with the cry, ‘Lord, save us,’ will find deliverance. His grace, that reconciles the soul to God, quiets the strife of human passion, and in His love the heart is at rest.”10
We can also claim sleep promises when we wake up in the night:
“When you lie down, you will not be afraid. . . . You will lie down and your sleep will be sweet” (Prov. 3:24).
“I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me” (Ps. 3:5).
When I wake in the night, I claim these promises. I take a few deep slow breaths. I pray for things I remember in work, family, and church until “He gives His beloved sleep” (Ps. 127:2). We can rest in Jesus, even when we are awake in the night.
A Word About Exercise
“Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand” (Phil. 4:5, KJV).
In our thinking about rest and the rhythms of our lives, exercise is an important consideration. Ellen White encourages those who are brain workers to get outdoor exercise; and those who are involved in physical labor to exercise the mind.11 Our restoration activities should complement our work activities.
Extending this principle to the rhythms of life, we can pay attention to how we are doing each day. If we are experiencing high stress, perhaps high-intensity exercise such as heavy lifting or running isn’t the best option. Choosing to take a rest day, a nature day, or a recovery day of stretching or light walking may be best. This is a new concept I’m attempting to implement in my life. Instead of pushing myself for a hard workout that I had planned, I make adjustments and get outside to walk and talk with God about my situation.
Rhythms of Life
“Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31).
Most of our work situations have natural rhythms, ebbs and flows. Times that are super busy; times that are quieter. It’s essential not to fill up the quiet times with more busyness. God calls us to think and reflect, to listen to His leading and prompting in a review of our work. Winter is a time to sleep longer; summer a time to spend more time outside. We can embrace these rhythms to build rest into our years.
Vacations are an excellent time to reconnect with God. I encourage you not to fill every minute of your vacation with activities. Jesus calls us to rest: “Christ is full of tenderness and compassion for all in His service. He would show His disciples that God does not require sacrifice, but mercy. They had been putting their whole souls into labor for the people, and this was exhausting their physical and mental strength. It was their duty to rest.”12
This quote is from the “Come Rest Awhile” chapter in The Desire of Ages, which provides commentary on Mark 6, where Jesus calls the disciples away for reflection and grief recovery after the death of John. I try to read this chapter each time I take a vacation or a long weekend break. Another great vacation chapter in The Desire of Ages is “ ‘Peace, Be Still.’ ” Take along some reading that calls your heart to reconnect with God.
When Sick
“The Lord sustains them on their sickbed” (Ps. 41:3, NIV).
It seems obvious that we should rest when we are sick. But sometimes we still fret over things undone or what the future may hold. At these difficult times this line from The Ministry of Healing calls us to rest in Jesus: “Often your mind may be clouded because of pain. Then do not try to think. You know that Jesus loves you. He understands your weakness. You may do His will by simply resting in His arms.”13
Sabbath
“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” (Heb. 4:9, 10).
Of course, as Adventists, when we think about resting, we insist that we do rest on the Sabbath. In this article I hope you’ve found many ways to bring a Sabbath rest into the rest of your week. Let us conclude with a check-in on our Sabbathkeeping. Not legalistically. But are your Sabbath habits resulting in a sense of rest and peace each week?
When I worked in the public school system, I started two habits I’ve kept now that I work at Andrews University. I used to get off work so close to Sabbath in the winter that I made a habit of cleaning my house for Sabbath on Thursday evening. It resulted in a lovely Sabbath feeling coming on Friday afternoon. Even while I was working on Friday afternoon, every chance I could I would listen to my favorite Sabbath music to start “getting in the Sabbath mood.” So much so that one of my colleagues noticed the difference in me on Friday afternoons.
Is there space in your Sabbathkeeping to spend time with God? I like to have some time lying on the couch with my cats and letting the Holy Spirit convict me about my week. It requires fighting the urge to scroll through social media or even putting the phone away! In talking with my Adventist Christian counselor regarding my long COVID depression, she reminded me to focus on the goodness of God. To spend time thinking about His majesty and power. Do your Sabbath habits include time to bask in His presence and goodness?
Resting
I pray that this testimony is an invitation to you to examine your rest and work ethics. God keeps teaching me these ideas, and I have to keep relearning them. May these ideas not be a guilt trip, but instead a compelling invitation. An invitation to rest in God’s sustaining grace.14
1 Ellen G. White, Education (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1903), p. 138.
2 Stephanie Vozza, “How the 85% Rule Can Help You Succeed at Work,” Fast Company, Oct. 16, 2023, https://www.fastcompany.com/90964282/how-the-85-rule-can-help-you-succeed-at-work.
3 Vanya Gautam, “This Japanese Company Gives Non-Smoking Employees Extra 6 Days Off Every Year,” India Times, Mar. 11, 2022, https://www.indiatimes.com/ worth/news/ japan-company-piala-gives-extra-six-days-off-to-non-smoking-employees-564208.html.
4 Ellen G. White, Prayer (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 2022), p. 10.
5 Ibid., p. 11.
6 See Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1898, 1940), p. 361.
7 Ibid., p. 363.
8 See Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams (New York: Scribner, 2017).
9 See Kelly Starrett, Built to Move: The Ten Essential Habits to Help You Move Freely and Live Fully (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2023).
10 E. G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 336.
11 See Ellen G. White, Mind, Character, and Personality (Nashville: Southern Pub. Assn., 1977), vol. 2, pp. 399, 400; Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1905), pp. 130, 131.
12 E. G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 360.
13 E. G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 251.
14 See Ellen G. White, Our Father Cares (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1991), p. 357.
