We’ve all experienced it. You let the adrenaline down for a bit and you find your eyelids sinking low. You have a decision; to nap or not to nap. 

Naps get a bad wrap in our culture. We hustle hard and hear the mantra “work harder!” running through our heads. We push and push and push and sometimes we even crash. But we don’t rest well. 

Despite what you may believe, you aren’t the Energizer Bunny. No amount of caffeine and adrenaline will keep fatigue from hunting you down. One way or another you will stop.

Our fatigue is not a modern invention. The urge to nap has been around a long time. Alex Pang’s book Rest shares how many high producers from yesteryear knew how to take naps to recharge. They even scheduled them in.

Recently several comments on our Stay Forth Facebook page shared your affinity to Sunday afternoon naps. Our team laughed and cheered when we saw this. If Monday is the day to get back on the horse it makes sense that a restorative Sunday might include a nap. This follows the principle we teach; work from rest instead of resting from work. Crashing might be a waste of time, but resting never is. 

Rest is more than sleep, but that’s part of it. Many people aren’t sleeping as much as they should. Every body is different, but everybody needs to figure out the appropriate amount of sleep for them. It also changes with seasons, diet and exercise. Skimp on your sleep and your creativity, engagement, and fulfillment will eventually drain. 

You’re going to rest; either proactivity or reactively. Crashing is reactive, but resting is proactive. “The crash” may be an overly busy week, lack of sleep or lazy living catching up with you. Hopefully, you’re not crawling into the weekend needing to crawl back out of your fatigue hole, just getting back up to level ground. Rest looks ahead and aims to restore. It sets you up for what you’re going to do instead of just making up what you didn’t do. 

Why is rest so spiritual? 

When we rest we trust that God works. Resting declares war on us believing we are at the center of the universe. It is a statement that God spins the world just fine on his finger even when we snooze. 

God designed us for it. It’s God’s original design for us to rest. We have limits and if we don’t pay attention to them our bodies, minds, hearts and souls will grow weary. For whatever reason God designed us to need rest, sleep and refueling.  

It allows us to do what God calls us to. When we rest we ready ourselves for the work God has designed us for. We fill and even refill for the tasks ahead, for the meaningful work He has called us to.  

Here are a few questions to consider… 

Why do you struggle to rest? 

What is the most fruitful way you rest? 

Where does this fit best in your schedule?