Have you ever finished a Friday so exhausted and ready for the weekend to realize it’s only Thursday? Here is live footage of me last Thursday:

So if you were looking for a great excuse to cut yourself some slack and take a break, you have come to the right place. Here are 7 times the Bible tells us to just take a nap:

1. Did you know Sunday afternoon naps were originally God’s idea? Bless.

“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work.” – Exodus 20:9-10a NLT

2. Have you ever been so busy you didn’t even have time to eat?! Jesus too. His answer? You guessed it… take a nap.

“The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. Then Jesus said, ‘Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.’ He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.” – Mark 6:30-31 NLT

3. Did you know God is anti-overtime? Seriously, take a break every once in a while!

“It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones.” – Psalm 127:2 NLT

4. David knew the Lord had his back. So that man TOOK. A. NAP.

“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.” – Psalm 4:8 NLT

5. In case you missed your nap yesterday, God went ahead and rescheduled it for today. Thanks God.

“So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today.” – Hebrews 4:6-7a NLT

6. David describes for us the perfect nap.

“He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.” – Psalm 23:2 NLT

7. Even God himself rested. So sweetie, you go ahead and take your nap right there!

“On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.” – Genesis 2:2-3 NLT

All jokes aside, there is TRUE rest for us in Christ.

I’m talking about the true rest God promises us in Hebrews 4 and that David illustrates for us in Psalms 23. This kind of rest and peace isn’t something you can get from a power nap, lavender essential oil, or by taking a social media hiatus. It only comes from centering yourself in God’s word and by not allowing the worries of this world to pollute your mind.

True rest is so important that God himself displayed it for us on the seventh day of creation. It wasn’t a day of simply doing nothing, it was an intentional day of rest. If rest is important to God, it should be important to you also.

My prayer for you today is that you find time to take a nap, but that you also find true rest in Christ.

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