The Same God Who Tells You to Go, Will Tell You to Stop

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” - Matthew 11:28

Ya'll, let me tell you about yesterday, the Sunday that almost broke me, and how it actually became a huge moment of revelation.

Yesterday, I had it all planned out. My mother-in-loves appreciation service was at church, and I wanted to cook a big Sunday dinner for my family beforehand. You know how it is, you want to make sure everybody’s fed and happy, especially when you haven’t had the chance to do those big family meals as much lately.

So I’m on this mission to find the perfect whole chicken, you know, the kind that comes clean without all those giblet things because ain’t nobody got time for that. First grocery store? No chicken. Second grocery store? Still no chicken. Sunday morning rolls around, and I’m thinking, “Third time’s the charm, right?” Wrong. Still no chicken.

Fine. I pivot. Different meat, same love, right?

But then yesterday morning comes, and honey, if Murphy’s Law had a personal vendetta, it was against my kitchen that day. I’m trying to cook this meal before church, and everything that could go wrong is going wrong. The extra sharp cheese I know I bought for the mac and cheese? Vanished. I couldn't find it anymore.

I preheat the oven, wait for that beautiful beep, slide the mac and cheese in, and then, plot twist, I discover someone left a styrofoam plate, with taco salad on it, in there from the night before. Melted styrofoam everywhere.

So now I’m cleaning the oven, running late, and getting more frustrated by the minute. Then I go to open the cornbread mix, the only box I had, and it just explodes everywhere. Cornbread mix raining down like confetti at the world’s most stressful party.

And it was in that moment, standing in my kitchen covered in cornbread dust, that God whispered something profound to my spirit:

The enemy is just as angry when God tells us to stop as he is when God tells us to go.

Before I dive deeper into seasons of rest, let me talk about something that’s been weighing heavy on my heart, boundaries. Because honey, if you’re going to walk in this season of peace and rest that God has called you to, you’re going to have to get real comfortable with a two-letter word: NO

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” - Proverbs 4:23

Listen, I’ve learned something the hard way, Your boundaries are not up for negotiation. They are not a suggestion box where people get to vote on what works best for them. They are not a rough draft that people get to edit and revise until it’s convenient for their agenda.

Your boundaries are yours

But let me tell you what’s going to happen when you start setting them. People are going to test them like they’re taking the SATs. They’re going to push against them, question them, guilt-trip you about them, and try to convince you that you’re being “mean” or “selfish” or “not the person you used to be.”

And to that I say, Good.

If setting healthy boundaries makes you “not the person you used to be,” then hallelujah, because the person you used to be was probably exhausted, overwhelmed, and saying yes to everything while your own soul was running on empty.

Don’t let people pressure you out of your boundaries because they make them uncomfortable. Your peace is not responsible for managing other people’s inconvenience. Your rest is not supposed to accommodate everyone else’s expectations.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” - Galatians 5:1

When someone says, “But you always used to…”, that’s exactly the point. You used to. Past tense. You used to run yourself into the ground trying to be everything to everyone. You used to say yes when your spirit was screaming no. You used to prioritize everyone else’s comfort over your own well being.

But God has called you to something different now. And if people can’t respect that, that says more about them than it does about you.

Your boundary might be: “I don’t discuss my personal life at work.” Stick to it.

Your boundary might be: “I don’t attend events that drain my spirit.” Honor it.

Your boundary might be: “I don’t engage in conversations that tear other people down.” Maintain it.

Whatever your boundaries are, they are valid. You don’t need permission to protect your peace. You don’t need approval to guard your energy. You don’t need consensus to choose what’s healthy for you.

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” - Psalm 23:2-3

Let me be real with you. This season I’m in right now? It’s a season of rest and peace. It’s a season of replenishing. And I am very sure of what God wants from me right now, peace. Not productivity. Not hustle. Not grinding until I’m dust. Peace.

For the first time in my life, I’m really choosing peace intentionally. I’m setting boundaries (y’all, this is new territory for me). I’m learning that I can say “no” without providing a 47 point dissertation on why. Revolutionary, right?

I’m being intentional about my health, making sure I’m up on all my medical appointments, if I feel pain, I'm going to the doctors to get to the bottom of it, no more just saying, "it will go away", I am shifting the way I think about food and what honoring my temple actually looks like. And the enemy? Oh, he is pressed about it.

Now, most people think that when you’re in a rest season, you’re not a threat. “Girl, you ain’t doing nothing, so why would the devil care?” But that’s where they’re wrong. You are a threat.

A resting warrior is a dangerous thing because rest isn’t about being unproductive, it’s about being strategic.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” - Isaiah 40:31

God doesn’t give us seasons of rest and replenishment just because He’s feeling generous (although He is). It’s because we’ve poured out, we’ve done a lot, and we’re very close to, or already at, burnout. He knows there’s still mighty work that has to be done, work that’s going to be bigger than what came before.

So He gives us a season of pause. A season to refill our tanks, to remember who we are, to get our strength back. Because what’s coming next is going to require everything we’ve got and then some.

The enemy knows this. He’s not stupid. He sees you resting and thinks, “Oh no, she’s about to level up.” So he tries everything in his power to frustrate you, to go against the peace you’ve chosen, to make you feel like nothing is going your way. Why? So you don’t get that replenishment. So you don’t get that rest. So you don’t get recharged for what’s next.

But here’s my mantra, and I’ve been saying it for years, but even more now, No stress, no strain, no struggle. It’s all gone, honey. We’re not entertaining chaos in this season.

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1

Here’s what I need you to understand, The same God that told you to go is the same God that will tell you to stop. And you need to be just as obedient to the stop as you were to the go.

That conference you’ve been running for four years? The one that used to fill you with fire but now just fills you with exhaustion? It’s okay to stop. That ministry that used to bear fruit but now feels like you’re watering concrete? It’s okay to step back.

Those events you’ve been hosting every single year for the past five years because “that’s what you do,” but now you know in your spirit it’s time to pause? Listen, the same God who gave you the vision to start is big enough to give you permission to rest.

I know you’re scared of what people will say. “What happened to her? She used to be so active in ministry. Maybe she’s backsliding. Maybe she lost her anointing.”

Let me tell you something, Resting is not backsliding. Pausing is not losing your anointing. Setting boundaries is not being unspiritual.

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” - Genesis 2:2

If God Himself took a rest day, what makes us think we’re too spiritual to need one?

If you’re like me and you find yourself in a season where God is calling you to rest, don’t you dare feel like you’re being lazy. Don’t feel like you’re not being productive. Don’t feel like you’re no longer anointed.

You are still anointed. You are still chosen. You are still powerful.

But the God who loves you, the God who sees you, the God who has plans for you, He knows what’s next. And sometimes what’s next requires you to be at 100%, not the 30% you’ve been running on because you think rest is a four-letter word.

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” - Zephaniah 3:17

God rejoices over you when you’re moving around serving, yes. But He also rejoices over you when you’re resting in His presence, when you’re taking care of the temple He gave you, when you’re setting healthy boundaries.

So here’s my challenge to you, What if this season of rest isn’t a punishment or a pause in your purpose, but actually part of your purpose? What if learning to rest well, to set boundaries, to choose peace over productivity is exactly the testimony someone needs to see?

We live in a culture that glorifies the grind, that makes us feel guilty for taking breaks, that equates our worth with our output. But God’s economy doesn’t work like that. In God’s economy, you are valuable because you are His, not because of what you produce.

Yesterdays styrofoam melted, cornbread exploded day taught me something, Even when the enemy tries to steal your peace, you get to choose how you respond. You get to choose whether you’re going to let the chaos win or whether you’re going to trust that God has you right where you need to be.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” - John 14:27

Maybe you’re reading this and you’re not in a season of rest, you’re in a season of go, and that’s beautiful too. But maybe you’re like me, and you’re learning that sometimes the most radical thing you can do is slow down.

Either way, trust the God who orders your steps. The same God who told Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt also told him when to stop and set up camp. The same God who sent Jesus into ministry also led Him away from the crowds to pray.

Your season might look different from someone else’s, and that’s okay. Your pace might be different, and that’s okay too. What matters is that you’re walking in obedience to your calling, your season, your assignment.

And if that assignment right now is to rest? Then rest like your breakthrough depends on it. Because it just might.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” - Psalm 46:10

God, help us trust You in our seasons of go and our seasons of stop. Give us the wisdom to know the difference and the courage to be obedient to both. Help us rest without guilt and serve without burnout. We trust that You know what’s next, and we choose to find our peace in You. Amen.

What season are you in right now? Drop a comment and let’s encourage each other in whatever pace God has us walking.