Good stress can be healthy, but it still requires rest. New work rhythms, new people, new protocols, new norms are exiting. Yet, it is still stressful. It requires a heightened energy level. It requires adaptation. It requires proper sleep and exercise. It requires rest.

Good stress, known as eustress, enhances our brain function, strengthens our immune system, and can build emotional resilience. The increased focus and memory are a welcome gift. Without proper care and attention even this eustress can become harmful.

On this Labor Day, it is a formal recognition of what God has taught us through Sabbath. We need rest. We need time away from our work, our ministry, our obligations to focus the One who restores us. God designed to physically benefit from rest. This rest is when our bodies and brains restore themselves. It improves our mood and heart health.

Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don’t do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day. (Exodus 20:8-11 MSG),

I’m learning to value rest even when the stress in my life is good stress. My energy day to day is better and it definitely makes me a kinder human. Self care that includes intentional time with our creator brings my soul a sense of peace that brings calmness to my mind. It reminds to that I have much to be grateful for and shows me where God’s love and grace need to be shared. Sabbath rest, spiritual rest, is so much more than a day off. It is intentionally resting in God, refocusing on the way of Christ’s love.

How do you participate in a sabbath rest? Share your story here and breathe life and bring hope to others.