Genesis 2:2, Psalms 37:7, Psalms 55:6, Isaiah 14:3-4, Ecclesiastes 2:24-25, 2 Corinthians 2:13-14, Philippians 4:6-7, Mark 6:31, Matthew 8:24, Matthew 26:45, Hebrews 4:4; 9-10

Men and brethren, you are free to choose but you are not free from the consequences of your choices. The biggest mistake we’ve all made through the ages is to try to explain the ways of God to men. We shouldn’t do that. We should just announce him. He explains himself very well. The Kingdom routine for greatness is resting, it helps you in avoiding the miscarriage of purpose. Therefore, if God decided to take a rest on the seventh day, what makes us think we don’t need even more rest than he does? “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work” Genesis 2:2

The question though is, “how do we rest?” You cannot be physically tired, and then expect yourself to have a cheerful attitude. Lack of rest can lead you to have miscarriage of pregnancy, miscarriage of purpose, it can make you to lose your job, lose your pregnancy, lose your marriage, and mostly lose your life. Lack of rest can cause you to hate someone without any reason and returning hate for hate multiplies hate and adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that but lack of rest reduces your tendency to love deeply because it takes energy to love.

Right where you are, all the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today. The flowers glow in the morning and weathered in the evening because it needs rest, even the Eagles comes to Nest for Rest. Lack of rest is the reason why we lack enthusiasm and why we lack creativity, there is no life in what we do, and no one can recommend you for anything because they always see you very tired and very angry. Enthusiasm is contagious — and so is the lack of it. The result we lack will graduate to depression. And depression is the inability to construct a future.

Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives. Therefore a quality marriage is a marriage where the husband and wife have created time to rest because none of the above will happen without it. A man cannot come back from work with his briefcase to meet a rambling wife talking about bills; he will never want to come home willingly. Remember that not to be happy … is not to be grateful. Therefore the couple must be skilful in knowing when they need rest, the child must understand when parents need rest before asking for school fees.

Rest in real life is the same way. We need time designated to let our bodies and minds recover from the diligent adherence to our normal routines. It takes energy to stick to a workout, eating, or writing programme. Every once in a while, you need to take a break. Go ahead. Skip a workout. Have some birthday cake. Sit and do nothing. Then go back to being awesome. No matter how much we love our routines and lifestyles, we still need to be able to rest and enjoy it guilt-free. Afterward, we can come back stronger than before; with new appreciation for the lives we lead with Gods promise “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14

Quite often, life reminds me of the importance of rest. By “rest”, I don’t necessarily mean sleep. Rather, rest is a break from my regular routine. Maybe it’s a skipped workout or a couple of days without picking up you phone or taking a time out with family, a vacation or a round of indulgent eating. It’s easy to feel guilty about resting when we could be doing more productive activities. But the way I see it, rest itself is highly productive because it enables us to return to our normal lifestyles with renewed enthusiasm. I lost my eldest brother because he does not rest. Great men, heavenly candidates, prayer warriors have all short-lived their life and God took them because they dont rest. Yes they have gone to heaven. You must try not to live your life in jeopardy of your time to rest. You become very shaky, because you are still clinging to a false center. That false center depends on others, so you are always looking to what people are saying about you. And you are always following other people; you are always trying to satisfy them. You are always trying to be respectable; you are always trying to decorate your ego. This is suicidal. We need to cry out. “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.” Psalm 61:1

Pay attention to the following markers below. It is indicators that could raise a red flag, and then you should consider a few easy sessions or off days so you can return to running strong. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26. The bible again says, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 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 40:28- 31

Number One: You lost weight from yesterday. A two percent drop in weight from one day to the next indicates a body-fluid fluctuation. Most likely, you didn’t hydrate enough during or after your last workout, last assignment. Or last trip. Dehydration negatively impacts both physical and mental performance, and could compromise the quality of your next assignment.

Number Two: Your resting heart rate is elevated. An elevated resting heart rate is one sign of stress. It means your nervous system prepared for fight or flight by releasing hormones that speed up your heart to move more oxygen to the muscles and brain. Your body won’t know the difference between physical and psychological stress. A hard run and a hard day at work both require extra recovery Psalm 62:5, 1 John 3:19

Number Three: You didn’t sleep well or enough. A pattern of consistently good sleep will give you a boost of growth hormones, which are great for rebuilding muscle fibers. Several nights in a row of bad sleep will decrease reaction time along with immune, motor, and cognitive functions—not a good combination for a person who desire to see results. Reasons you see people react differently and you wonder why Psalm 127: 1-2.

Number Four: Energy Level is run down. If your energy level is low, there’s something amiss. The key is honesty. Never try to block out signs of fatigue in order to push through any assignment, thinking it will make you stronger. It won’t always work that way. Matthew 11:28 “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.”

Number Five: Your mood is irritable: Any man of irritability cannot enter into his Canaan. If you doubt it, ask Moses when you get to Heaven. When your body is overwhelmed by training or work, it produces hormones like cortisol that can cause irritability or anxiety. Stress also halts chemicals like dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that has a big bummer effect on mood when depleted. Crankiness probably means not enough recovery.

Number Six: You are always sick: Any illness, or even a woman’s menstrual cycle, will increase your need for energy to refuel your immune system, which is having to work overtime. This means fewer resources available for recovering from training or work. This is already a sign that you had over worked. Mark 6:31 “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.”

Number Seven: Your Performance is poor: This is a subjective measure of work quality, not quantity nor intensity. If you felt great on yesterday’s run, you’d evaluate that as good by resting today. Multiple bad performances at your working place in a row—is one of the easiest ways to identify the need for more recovery 1 Peter 5:7.

Right where you are, there are always exceptions. Sometimes there are situations that absolutely must be dealt with that will keep you tethered to your office until the daylight has long left this side of the world. There are also the requisite meetings, sports games, and special events for which you are expected to be present. However these should not overwhelm a person to the extent that they arrive home exhausted, have not family life, and lack enough sleep to be effective the next day. It is important to remember that we are humans but a vacation should be exactly what the name says: a vacation. It’s important to disconnect yourself from work emails, work cell phone calls, IM, etc. We need time to rest, to recharge our batteries so that we can approach our work renewed and re-energized. “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” Hebrews 4: 9-11

A tired person makes rash decisions, while a rested person can assess the situation more thoughtfully. Genesis 2: 2-3 “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. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” God commands and demand that we rest. Leviticus 25:4 “But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.” Remember that:

Number One: God Designed Rest From Labor: Genesis 8:4

Number Two: God Provides Rest From Trouble: Psalms 37:7, Psalms 55:6, Isaiah 14:3-4

Number Three: God Promises Rest & Peace from Anxiety: Ecclesiastes 2:24-25, 2 Corinthians 2:13-14, Philippians 4:6-7

Number Four: God Knows You Must Rest to Recuperate; Even in Ministry: Mark 6:31, Matthew 8:24, Matthew 26:45, Hebrews 4:4; 9-10

Before I share testimonies and the concluding prayer. Please ignore fake profiles of Uma Ukpai Breakthrough Prayer or Rev uma ukpai jnr.. We dont have Ophanages.