The Power of Rest: When God Forces You to Sit Down

You know what's funny about God? He has this way of giving us exactly what we need, wrapped in packaging we absolutely didn't order. Like getting rest when you asked for breakthrough, or receiving peace when you were expecting profit.

For the first six months of this year, I've been pretty vocal on social media and this blog about how the Lord told me at the very end of 2024 that 2025 would be an adventure for me, personally, professionally, and administratively. I knew it was going to be an adventure, and I also knew that adventures aren't all mountain-top experiences. There are some really low valleys when you're on an adventure. But I was trying to fool myself into believing this particular adventure was going to be all good vibes because, hello, God gave us our long-awaited home at the very beginning of the year. Surely we weren't going from that high to an extreme low, right?

Wrong.

By the end of February, things started getting tough. The economy was swiftly changing with the election of our new president and the changing of the guard in the White House and government. Economically, things were shifting, and for our nonprofit, it immediately affected our funding. One of the bigger funding sources we depend on each year was now in danger of not being renewed. That's money that as a small nonprofit, we literally depend on to continue doing the programs and services we offer.

When that funding was at risk, I really tried my best to just not worry about it. I genuinely believed that God was going to turn it around somehow. But as the weeks and months went on, bills were still due, we still had programs to run, people who needed our services, and our funds were getting dangerously low.

The Bible talks about not worrying about tomorrow and just focusing on today. I really did not understand the real meaning of what that meant until now. And honestly? I worried like any normal human would do. Sue me.

What I did not realize about the first six months of this season of 2025 for my family and me was that it was sent to be a blessing. The enemy allowed me to believe it was a punishment.

See, during these six months, I've done things that I had only prayed about. I saw things happen in real life that I had only envisioned in my mind. When I look back over these six months, I think about the times I had the opportunity to watch my son play basketball in our yard with his friends. I've been able to swing on the swing set in our backyard with my grandkids. I've watched my grandson run through the sprinkler with such pure, beautiful Black boy joy as the water beads danced on his face and curled up into his natural curls.

I've been able to pray consistently and intentionally with my husband every morning, something that gets pushed aside when life gets "busy." We've been able to have marriage counseling and individual therapy every single week. Our kids are in therapy every single week. I started teaching Bible study at my church on Tuesdays, and then an opportunity came for me to lead Wednesday devotionals and prayer for a couple of weeks. Never in a million years did I see myself consistently teaching bible study.

I spent time just sitting on the couch with my daughter, watching television and laughing. I watched movies and laughed on the couch with my sister. Josh and I hosted a few small cookouts and Sunday dinners that felt like the old days when life was simpler. Some days I did absolutely nothing all day but sit in the bed and watch podcasts, and I'm not even sorry about it. I kept up with my doctor appointments, rewrote curriculum for Unashamed, and even started my perimenopause meds because honey, ya girl was going through it and finally had time to actually address it. I even spent some time swinging on my porch swing eating a homemade ice cream sundae like I was shooting a scene for Sweet Magnolias on Netflix, chile, I only dreamed of moments like this. I watched my granddaughter so my daughter could finish up her junior year and work. I had the time to spend with my granddaughter, making memories and watching her grow, seeing her and my grandson begin to build a relationship. And y'all, I slept. Like actually slept without feeling guilty about it

These are things I didn't really acknowledge throughout those six months. I took them for granted because I was so angry that our income was lower than we were used to. I felt like we were struggling financially even after getting this new home. But when I look back on it? Our bills were paid. We had food to eat every day. Yeah, maybe we didn't have a surplus of money to do a bunch of extravagant things we really don't need to do anyway, but our basic needs were taken care of.

One of the major things that happened during this time is something my husband has said for years that he really desired, to be able to completely financially take care of our family. In the beginning of our marriage, I was the breadwinner, and that's what I did. It's always been a prayer that would turn around, and he would be the provider. I've seen him be able to do this over the last few years, but really specifically in these last six months where I was not bringing in any income.

Yes, I'm still running Unashamed. I'm still doing the work, mentoring kids, speaking, doing all the things, but I was not making any money. My husband was literally paying every single bill and ensuring that our family was provided for. Now, some will say, "Well, that's his job as a husband." But in 2025, that's not everybody's reality, okay? Not everybody's husband is working and providing solely for the family while the wife is at home taking care of the children, the home, and in our case, the grandchildren, all while still being able to do the thing God called me to do during such a financially tight season.

Today, I want to encourage you to really think about the season of rest that God may have you in. For a lot of us who are used to being busy (and I mean busy busy), God has kind of forced us to sit down. It's been hard to do so, and we've looked at it as though it was a curse or punishment. But really? It's been a blessing.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." - Matthew 11:28-29

Here's the thing about biblical rest that we've gotten all wrong: Sabbath isn't just about a day anymore. It's about a Person, and that Person is Jesus Christ.

When He says, "Come to me all that are weary, and I will give you rest," He literally means that. We have to do a better job at learning how to rest without feeling guilty about it.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." - Genesis 2:2-3

If God Himself rested, who are we to think we're too important to need it?

"In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it." - Isaiah 30:15

This verse hits different when you're in a forced season of rest, doesn't it? Sometimes our strength comes from doing absolutely nothing but trusting God.

I am learning that as this season is beginning to come to a close and things are picking back up for Unashamed, and requests are starting to flow again for me to speak and travel, I am remembering what I know: I am grateful for the rest that the Lord forced upon me. I'm grateful for the memories I made and the time I was able to be so intentional with. I'm also grateful that it taught me how to be a better steward over my time and my finances.

"There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his." - Hebrews 4:9-10

So I look forward to being able to exercise better stewardship even as this season of forced rest maybe starts to shift.

Speaking of learning to rest, on July 1st, I took a sabbatical from social media. I realized it was literally distracting, draining, and breaking my heart. My plan is to stay off for the rest of the year so I can pull closer to the Lord and His word, as well as be more available for what He needs me to do in this season.

I have always prayed that God give me more capacity, more capacity, MORE capacity. But now I'm praying that He just give me capacity to do what He needs me to do now, today. No more rushing the process and saying yes to everything, but slowing down and being intentional about my yes to Him.

In these short few weeks since stepping away from social media, I'm already seeing His hand move. It doesn't require much, just for us to be obedient and stop worrying about missing out on something that probably wasn't meant for us anyway.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."- Matthew 6:33

What have you been doing when God has been calling you to rest? Have you been fighting it? Complaining about it? Feeling guilty about it? Or have you been leaning into it, trusting that maybe, just maybe, God knows what He's doing?

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." - Psalm 46:10

Sometimes being still is the most productive thing we can do. Sometimes rest is resistance against a culture that tells us our worth is tied to our productivity. Sometimes God forces us to sit down not as punishment, but as preparation for what's coming next.

Let me keep it completely honest with you about how to rest and honor the Sabbath without feeling guilty about not showing up for everything and everyone:

Girl, you are not God. I know, I know, shocking revelation. But seriously, you cannot be everywhere, do everything, or save everyone. That's literally God's job, and last I checked, He's been doing it pretty well without your help. Your presence is not required at every single event, meeting, baby shower, or book club for it to be successful. The audacity we have sometimes, thinking the world will fall apart if we don't show up!

Put your phone on "Do Not Disturb" and mean it. I'm talking about actually turning off those notifications after a certain time. That text message can wait until tomorrow. That email is not an emergency just because someone marked it "urgent." The world kept spinning for thousands of years without instant communication, and it'll survive a few hours without your immediate response.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."- Ecclesiastes 3:1

Master the art of the Holy No. Listen, every time you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else, including your own peace of mind. Before you automatically say yes (because you're a people-pleaser like the rest of us), pause and ask yourself: "Is this what God is actually calling me to do right now, or am I just scared of disappointing Sis. Johnson from church?" Your peace is worth more than Sis. Johnson's approval. Trust me on this.

Your rest doesn't need to be Pinterest-worthy. Sabbath doesn't have to look like some Instagram influencer's morning routine with perfect lighting and a spotless home. Sometimes rest is taking a nap in your clothes from yesterday. Sometimes it's ordering pizza instead of cooking that big meal you planned because you're exhausted, and you know what? That's perfectly fine. God isn't judging your rest aesthetic.

Stop apologizing for being human. You don't need to write a dissertation explaining why you need to rest. "I'm taking some time to recharge" is a complete sentence. You don't owe anyone a 500-word essay about why you're choosing your mental, physical, and spiritual health over their last-minute request.

"The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'" - Mark 6:30-31

Even Jesus told His disciples to get some rest. If it was good enough for the disciples, it's good enough for you.

Trust the process. Trust the rest. Trust that God's timing isn't just perfect, it's purposeful.

And if you're in a season of forced rest right now, stop feeling guilty about it. Your worth isn't determined by your hustle. Your value isn't measured by your busy schedule. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is absolutely nothing but trust God and swing on a swing set with your grandkids.

Trust me on this one.