Learn To Take a Break
John was a youth pastor and choir leader. He was undoubtedly gifted. His weekly schedule was regularly occupied by prayer night on Mondays, Bible study on Fridays and Bible teaching sessions on Sundays for youths. The youths grew under his ministry, and many youths were saved due to his dedication to the Lord’s work. Every Saturday evening, he faithfully led the choir. He wasn’t just a choir leader; he was a music director and ensured songs were skillfully ministered. The choir were expected to sing on Sundays and Wednesdays for mid-week service; as a result, Saturdays were hard work of rehearsals. He was dedicated and faithful to his commintments.
He also had a full-time job as a manager in a bank. He worked 9-5 pm and commuted to work daily, one hour each way. He was a great employee and consistently excelled at whatever came his way. He never turned down new projects when he was asked to lead. This often meant he had to work overtime, but his dedication to his job and love for his company caused him to always go above and beyond.
He was a father of two young toddlers and a faithful husband to his wife, Laura. He loved his family and demonstrated what it means to be a godly father and husband. But he wasn’t home much due to his tight schedules. His quiet time with the Lord was also impacted as he struggled with driving straight to church for mid-week services after work, returning home and then getting up early to work. Laura started to notice that John’s fast-paced schedule wasn’t sustainable. So one day, she sat him down and said, ‘I think you need to slow down; I need you to take a break’. John argued that his many responsibilities and commitments could not facilitate a break. Three weeks later, he went for a health check-up. The results indicated he was at high risk of heart disease due to stress. He looked back at his wife, who repeated, ‘Please slow down. I need you to take a break’.
John is a wonderful character—we may all know one or be one—one who wastes no time and is always busy! But he also couldn’t see his need to take a break. When our busy lives cause us to run too fast, our spiritual life suffers, and those closest and dearest to us also suffer the consequences. They don’t get to spend quality time with you and may suffer the pain of watching your health deteriorate due to your ever-busy schedule.
Sometimes, we like to go 100 miles per hour. We rush through life because we have so much to achieve in so little time! Nonetheless, I don’t condone laziness, and neither does scripture.
Laziness casts one into a deep sleep, And an idle person will suffer hunger.-Proverbs 19:15, NKJV
But we must know when it’s time to take a break. We need to note when our relationship and walk with the Lord is impacted due to our packed schedules. We need to know when quiet time with the Lord and quality family time constantly take a back seat due to our busy schedules.
Those who are hard workers and want to be successful can easily fall into the trap of not taking a break. Knowing when to take a break is not only crucial to your ability to be consistent in what you do, but it is also essential for your health and walk with God. The Sabbath is a clear example of God taking rest quite seriously.
And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. -Genesis 2:2-3, KJV
God understood and practised rest, not because he needed it (Isaiah 40:28,KJV), but as an example to us that there is a place for taking a break. It is part of the pattern of creation. After spending six days creating the world, as we read in Genesis 1, He rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3). He also ‘blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation’. This is another principle we can learn about taking a break. Taking a break allows you to step back and review what you have achieved. It supports us in being reflective and having a thankful attitude.
At work, nobody likes having a boss who never appreciates their team and seldom takes time to celebrate the team’s achievements because they are always on the go—on to the next thing. This is no different in our personal lives and spiritual walk; take a break, reflect on, and appreciate God for the various milestones and the small steps taken to reach them.
It is also essential to understand that your capacity in the different seasons of your life will vary. As a single man, John had no issues being a youth pastor, choir leader and bank manager. He could go home whenever he wanted; he didn’t have young kids and a wife who needed his presence. But this level of activity became more challenging to maintain when he married and started having kids – which is okay! He just needed time to take a break and evaluate what areas of his life he needed to take a step back from in his current season. This is how seasons work. As you go through different seasons in life, a lack of evaluation of priorities and activities will cause you to overstretch yourself or expend much energy with little or nothing to gain.
Regardless of your calling in the Lord or your job, you must recognise when you need to slow down. Burnout is not pretty. Not taking a break will mean you become busy but empty. You can also fall into the trap of becoming self-dependent.
Going 100 miles/hour can turn into an addiction. You want to avoid getting to the point where you can’t see when you need to take a break. I have witnessed hard-working people who love the Lord fall sick because they didn’t know they had to take a break. And even while sick, they refused to take a break! This is not success; this is unhealthy and can sometimes come from a place of pride. I say pride because you may believe you are superhuman, but you are not. Yes, we all have different capacities, and some can handle more responsibilities, but everybody needs a break at some point. It’s okay to take a break. If you are unsure if you need to, pray to the Lord and speak with loved ones.
Not knowing how to rest or take a break can come from a place of pride because you may believe you are superhuman. Not taking a break will mean you become busy but empty and may fall into the trap of becoming self-dependent rather than God-dependent.
Taking a break allows you to reset and recalibrate. God didn’t create us to run at 100 miles per hour daily without a break. For some people, the fear of becoming complacent discourages them from taking a break. Taking a break doesn’t mean throwing your hands in the air and deciding not to continue to make an effort; it simply means taking time to reflect. It means taking responsibility for the health and body God has given you. It will make the journey so much easier.
So, my question to you is: Do you take breaks? Do you sit down to review where you are and thank God for milestones and the little steps taken to achieve them? Take a break, go on a retreat, turn down unnecessary meetings, switch off your phone sometimes, log out of your emails, be refreshed, relax, and spend quality time with God and family.
