Real Rest Through the Renewal of Our Minds

In today’s ever-increasingly busy world, the call to practice the Sabbath has gained popularity. Many people now advocate for a Rule of Life that centers on weekly Sabbath-keeping.

Despite this rising tide of advice, however, we find ourselves still longing for real rest, grappling with burnout, stress, and anxiety. This points to a deeper issue: experiencing true rest requires more than just altering our actions—it demands the renewal of our minds. That’s because our proclivity to overwork is deeply rooted in the idolatry of work.

…experiencing true rest requires more than just altering our actions—it demands the renewal of our minds.

Confronting Our Idolatry of Work

Work idolatry shows up in our need to be seen as productive people who have achieved a lot. We tend to measure our worth by our jobs, salaries, and accomplishments. Although we emphatically acknowledge that we know God loves us, if we’re honest, we also feel the need to be respected by, approved of, and validated by people at work. And when our boss or co-worker criticizes us, we feel crushed.

I can see how my own work idolatry has driven me to overwork. Last year, after some deep reflection and helpful guidance from my executive coach, I determined that I was burnt out, run-down, and needed to take a sabbatical. But I hesitated to admit to folks that I needed to rest—I was worried that it would reflect poorly on their perceptions of me as a leader. I had to confront my tendency to wear my heavy workload as a badge of honor and my tendency to question my value if I was not producing results.

Certainly, keeping the Sabbath is crucial—not only because God commands it, but also because it can help reshape our perspectives on work and rest. Regularly abstaining from work can lead us to appreciate the benefits of rest, gradually convincing us of its importance. So, for some, adhering to a weekly Sabbath practice alone can counteract the compulsion to overwork.

However, for many, including myself and the numerous Christian business leaders who have confided in me, the pressure to observe a weekly Sabbath often exacerbates rather than alleviates our burden to rest. We find ourselves adding Sabbath-keeping as yet another task on our overwhelming to-do lists, inducing pride when accomplished and guilt when neglected. For overachievers and rule-followers, the practice can become more significant than its purpose, leading to a legalistic approach where we go through the motions without the proper motivations.

Moreover, even when our bodies rest our minds often remain preoccupied with work. While I’m trying to rest, I find myself stressing out over all the work that I think is piling up—or I replay in my mind something bad that happened at work and continue to beat myself up over it. Sometimes even when I’m feeling more positive, my dreams and plans for my future work distract me from enjoying my present period of rest.

We might stop working physically, but the drive to work persists. More often than not this is because we are haunted by what the late pastor and author Tim Keller called the “work beneath the work.” That is, we derive our identity and significance from productivity and success. We wouldn’t admit it, but we believe our work defines our value—to others, to ourselves, and even to God. Even with seemingly God-honoring motivations, we end up doing things for God without first being with God, which is what God wants the most. In other words, we have turned work into an idol.

Even with seemingly God-honoring motivations, we end up doing things for God without first being with God, which is what God wants the most.

Three Practices to Renew Our Minds

To experience genuine rest, we must confess this work idolatry, embrace Jesus’ finished work on the cross, and let God transform us from within. We can foster this renewal of our minds through three practices:

Preach the Gospel to Ourselves

We need to replace the self-critical tapes that play in our minds with the truth of the Gospel. Instead of telling ourselves that we haven’t worked hard enough or aren’t successful enough, we must constantly remind ourselves of the value God gives us through Jesus Christ. We don’t need to prove our worth through our work because Christ’s perfect life, death, and resurrection are all the proof of our worthiness that we need. Jesus’s record of achievements is our record; his work is our work. And with his work finished on the Cross, the only “work” left for us is to respond in worship.

We don’t simply hear a Gospel message, become saved, and then move on to work out of our own effort and intention. The Gospel is an ongoing source of renewal, a constant guide for our lives, a truth to live in line with every day in everything we do, as it says in Galatians 2. So, we must continually remind ourselves of the grace and power God has secured for us.

Rethink Rest

We often view rest as a reward we get to enjoy after our labor, but it is actually the preparation we ought to embrace before our work. Reflecting on the order of God’s creation, we note man and woman were created on the sixth day and then God rested on and blessed the seventh. This means humans’ first full day was one of rest, not work. This teaches us that we do not work to earn God’s favor; we rest because God is already pleased with his work.

What’s more, rest prepares us to work freely and joyfully. According to the fourth commandment, the Sabbath is a time to remember and experience God as our liberator. God freed the Israelites from slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt, and today He frees us from the idols we create, including and especially our work.

Embracing this perspective, we can see rest not as an indulgence or distraction from work but as God’s provision that empowers and enhances our work.

Invite God into Our Work

Beyond separating our lives into distinct periods of work and rest as we do when we take a Sabbath, we should seek to integrate rest into our daily work experience.
We can do this by starting our workdays praying through our calendars and to-do lists, offering simple breath prayers throughout the day (e.g., inhale while thinking “Be still;” and exhale with “and know I am God”). We can also practice turning off the background newsfeed or music while we work so that we can be attuned to the still, small voice of God.

By orienting ourselves to God throughout our workdays, inviting God into our tasks, and opening ourselves to the intimacy he desires, we can delight in God’s faithful presence. As we become more mindful of God’s presence, we experience the inherent rest it brings, even amidst our work.

For those seeking real rest, rooted in something deeper than mere practice, these perspectives offer the potential for significant and sustainable transformation. By renewing our minds, we unplug not only from the activity of work but also from the underlying drives that compel us to overwork in the first place.