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Like a nap? The Bible encourages you to go for it!

Tired woman lying on the couch

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Cerith Gardiner - published on 05/21/23

Next time you feel yourself doze off, embrace it.

Taking a nap can be crucial for our well-being. Whether it’s to escape the stresses of everyday life, or catch up on much-needed sleep, there’s something quite wonderful about having a little power nap.

However, taking some time off to snooze can leave us feeling a little guilty. After all, that laundry won’t get cleaned by itself, and there’s always an urgent work email!

But it’s time to embrace the nap for the wonders it can do for the rest of your day. And actually, we should learn from our Heavenly Father Himself, who took time off to rest:

“On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.” Genesis 2:2-4

If you think about it, God took a whole day off during the creation of seven days. You could ask, how many of us really unplug completely for a day each week? After all, just checking our work messages might only take a minute or two, but, by not switching off we’re not allowing ourselves to truly rest and appreciate what we have.

While it might seem unreasonable to allow ourselves a whole day of rest on a Sunday, especially for those with young families, in Scripture we are encouraged to see that resting is important for us, both physically and spiritually.

Whether this rest comes in the form of managing a peaceful Sabbath, or in taking the time out in our day to take a quick snooze to free up our minds to feel more peaceful, we mustn’t forget the importance of rest in our oft-unrestful world.

Tags:
BibleMental HealthParenting
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