Today we're talking about something many leaders struggle with rest. Are you really leading on empty? Our hustle culture celebrates busyness that equates exhaustion with importance and fuse rest as a luxury rather than a necessity. Many of us, we find ourselves running on fumes, but what if rest isn't an obstacle to productivity, but the foundation of it? What if stepping back isn't weakness? Wisdom. Let's see what God's word says about rest and renewal. Exodus chapter 20 verses eight through 10 says, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God in it. Thou shalt not do any work. Thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid, servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gate. This commandment right alongside thou shalt not kill and thou shalt not steal, reveals God's heart about the importance of us taking rest. This passage reveals something important about our very human nature. We often neglect rest. Leading to burnout. Notice how God begins this commandment. Remember the Sabbath day. Why would God need to tell us to remember to rest? Because he knows our tendency to forget it, to push through, to keep going, to prioritize productivity over renewal, and even our relaxation many times is not Rest. People are counting on us. The needs never end. Our work is never truly complete, so we keep pushing. We keep producing. We keep performing until we hit the wall of exhaustion, make decisions from our depletion or damage our own health, our relationships with our families or our ministries, because we ignored the rhythm of rest that God established. Look at how comprehensive this command is in it. Thou shalt not do any work. You nor your son, nor your daughter, uh, nor your man servant. Those that work for you nor your maid, servant, uh, nor your cattle, nor the strangers, the people you don't even know that you'd be asking to do things. This isn't just about personal rest, it's about creating a culture of rest. It's about not expecting from others what God doesn't expect from you. It's recognizing that even those who depend on you. Your children, your employees, even your working animals need regular renewal. The reality is we weren't designed to operate continuously. We were created with a need for rhythm, work and rest, engagement, disengagement, productivity, and ultimately renewal. When we ignore this design from God, we don't just become tired. We become less effective in every aspect of our life, including our ability to lead others. So what does this say about us? It says that we tend to prioritize doing over being accomplishment over replenishment, urgent demand over the important rhythms of life. And in doing so, we often undermine the very productivity. That we're trying to achieve. So what does this passage reveal about God? First, God instituted rest as a necessary rhythm of life. It's not a suggestion, it's not a nice idea. It's a commandment placed right alongside prohibitions against murder, theft, and adultery. That's how seriously God takes rest. He designed us and he understands that regular renewal isn't optional for us. It's essential. For our wellbeing and ultimately the effectiveness of our life. You see, God values balance. Six days shall foul labor, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. God isn't advocating laziness or a perpetual vacation, but he's also not endorsing relentless work without pause. He's establishing a rhythm that honors both the dignity of work and the necessity of our rest. Finally, God models what he commands in Genesis two verse verse two. We read. On the seventh day, God ended his work, which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all of his work which he had made. God who did not need rest, chose to rest, not because he was depleted, but because he wanted to establish a pattern for us to follow. This gives us something profound. Rest is not a sign of weakness. It's an act of wisdom. It's not an admission of our limit. It's actually us aligning with God's divine design. So how do we apply these principles to our leadership? First, we need to schedule rest, schedule it. As seriously as you schedule your work, most leaders are diligent about protecting work commitments. We block time out for projects and meeting schedules and deadlines, but are we equally diligent about scheduling rest? What if you treated rest with the same seriousness? Blocking times on your calendar for periods of renewal, setting some boundaries around evenings and weekends and days off, and planning vacations well in advance, and then protecting those dates. This is a red line for us that we need to have to create that daily margin, that we need to have time just to reflect and reflect, not just about work, but about life. About what God has for us. We also need to realize that rest is not one dimensional. There's different aspects about our different types of renewal. There's physical rest, there's sleep, relaxation, mental rest, where we just have a cognitive break from overthinking. We need social rest. We, we need personal time and we also need relationships. And sometimes to set boundaries just from people that are draining us. And we also need spiritual rest. We need to be able to have time to rest and reconnect with God's very presence. You see, effective leaders recognize which type of rest they need the most and they make space for it. Sometimes some afternoons you just need a nap. Sometimes you need a conversation about something other. Than work and deadlines. Sometimes you just need complete silence. Other times you need community, and I'm not talking about a work meeting. Wisdom is knowing what kind of rest you need in each season of your life. So create a culture around you that values renewal. Remember how comp comprehensive that the Sabbath command was, it just wasn't about personal rest. About creating a culture of rest around you. If you send emails out at night, you never take vacation days. You expect an immediate response regardless of time. If you are praising the whole hustle culture, every time you talk, your team is going to follow your example, not your words. Create a culture that values renewal. Model the healthy work life boundaries your family needs, that encourage team members to use their vacation time. They need that and you need that for them. We all have true emergencies. True emergencies happen, but true emergencies should not happen every week. That's a sign of poor leadership. Your team is watching not just what you say, but how you practice it. Sometimes leaders avoid rest because they see it as unproductive. I don't have time to have time, but if rest is actually the foundation of true productivity. What if that renewal is the source of your most creative ideas, your most insightful solutions, your most effective leadership and management skills that come out through that time of rest? Well-rested people, they make much better decisions. They're able to step back and see the bigger picture. Rest isn't our enemy. It's not the enemy of results. It's an ally of sustainable achievement over the long term. When you connect your rest to your larger purpose, it transforms you. So Exodus chapter 20, verses eight through 10, they establish the Sabbath as a commandment, not a suggestion. We often neglect rest in our drive to succeed and achieve, but God instituted it for our lives. We need to prioritize rest. Schedule it, cultivate it, create a culture, connect rest to your personal purpose. So your challenge is to today, schedule a regular time of rest. Encourage your team to do the same. Start small, but be specific. Maybe just block an hour out on your calendar this week solely just for renewal. If this message helps you share it with another leader who might be running on empty. Don't forget to subscribe. I'd love for you to get these weekday devotionals every single day, but until tomorrow, remember that rest isn't just something you do when the work is done. It enables you to do the work that God has called you to do every single day.