I can promise you this: If you ever get mono, you will hear or see the words “get some rest” 5,492 times a day. Well.... maybe not that much, but a lot.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10. We see two sisters with vastly different personalities - and that’s okay. Jesus came to visit. The God of the Universe, the Messiah is sitting in the living room. Verse 40 is very telling regarding Martha’s state of mind. It starts off “but Martha”. Jesus is in the house teaching those who were present, but Martha.... she was distracted, anxious, troubled, tired. All of that emotion drove her to confront Jesus with the words, “don’t You care?”. Oh my, how many times have we all been there?
When my doctor called me to give me test results this week, he told me that 80-90% of the population carries the Epstein-Barr Virus that causes mono. Most of the time a healthy immune system is able to fight it off. But when we become over tired and stressed our immune system becomes weakened and next thing you know you are flat on your back.
God created us with a need for rest. He gave us that example at Creation. He did not need to rest, but He did. When He handed the law to Moses, He established a day of rest, not as an option but a command. (It isn’t anymore but that’s a whole other blog post).
Another favorite story is when Elijah runs from Jezebel in 1 Kings 19:1-8. He has just had a great victory, God haas shown Himself mighty in defeating the prophets of Baal. But Elijah has to run for his life. He is tired, hungry and alone. He sits down under a tree and prays to die. The next few verses are so amazing. God doesn’t come down and say “Elijah - look at all I have done. Get yourself together. Think about those amazing moments. Look on the bright side.” Nope. He sends an angel to bring him food and water. And he lets him get some rest. And once he has been taken care of, fed, and RESTED, he is able to rise and continue his ministry. We were made to rest.
All to often, we think rest is a waste of time. All we want to do is go..go..go, or we don’t feel like we are getting the most out of life. Or we think no one can do what we are doing. We become so bogged down in the day to day stresses and crises that we push ourselves to exhaustion. I believe that is a sin.
I wonder if God gave us a little built in mechanism whereby our bodies say, “Enough!” and we are going to rest whether we want to or not.
Lesson #3: Get some rest.
Jesus said “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me (that’s what Mary was doing back in Luke 10), for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find REST for your souls.” Matthew 11:29
I have a friend who told me last week that mono was the best disease she ever had because when she got well she was rested and refreshed. Not sure I am there, yet, but I will be looking forward to getting a little more rest on a regular basis.
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