All photos credited to Wende Grubbs of Bless the Badge.

When Rest Feels Like the Wrong Move

I had the amazing opportunity to attend the Florida Leaders’ Summit this month, and I’m still basking in all that the Lord has done. 

I went in expecting it to be valuable. I had no idea how much the Lord would meet me there.

Time with other leaders. Good conversations. Shared mission. Sign me up.

But if I’m honest, I also came in with a mindset I’ve carried for a long time:

Stay engaged. Stay productive. Keep things moving.

And then I was asked not to work. 

I was honored with the gift of space to rest… and I knew I had been needing this very thing. I was so excited to rest! But even while preparing, I kept catching myself thinking of all I could accomplish while away from home, and its distractions.

Even there… I wrestled… I didn’t feel like I had time to fully step away.

And I realized pretty quickly—I didn’t just need rest…
I had to work at not working.

Not casually. Intentionally.

That tension stayed with me all week.

Because everything in me kept saying:
There’s more to do.

Called… and Still With Him

When you are called, it’s hard not to live in a constant sense of urgency.

The burden for those you serve is real. The need is real.

In first responder ministry, there are no true slow seasons. The job doesn’t stop… so the need doesn’t either. 

In Exodus 34, we drop in on Moses attempting to lead the children of Israel to the promised land. 

And honestly, it’s not going as well as he had hoped. They just sinned and made a golden calf to worship. The covenant had been broken, and God was ready to unleash wrath on them.  

Moses interceded for them, God remembers His promises, relents from destroying them, and then he intercedes again, asking God not just to save them, but to forgive them – willing to stand in their place. Moses understood the call to give up all of himself. 

He was actively leading people who are difficult, unpredictable, and constantly in need, carrying a responsibility that most of us can’t fully comprehend. And he knew how much he needed God. In Exodus 33:15, he said, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.” Moses hit a turning point. A ‘I won’t move without you’ moment.

God’s response? “My presence shall go with you…” Exodus 33:14a

But God didn’t stop there. He finished with such a gracious response. “…and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14b

Rest is not separate from His presence.

It is found in it.

The Promise That Holds It Together

This wasn’t isolated. Right in the middle of his calling, in the middle of the wilderness wanderings, Moses had stepped away from the work to be in God’s presence, not for just a morning devotional time, not because it was downtime in between events… 

“So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights…” — Exodus 34:28 (NASB)

He didn’t step away because the work was done.

He stepped into the presence of God while the work was still very real.

And when it says he was with the Lord – that is no small thing.

The phrase  “with the Lord” used here carries the idea of being before the face of God—not just near Him, but positioned in intentional, relational nearness.

And this wasn’t brief.

Forty days. Forty nights.

Sustained, uninterrupted communion.

The Result of Being With Him

Moses comes down the mountain and doesn’t even realize what has happened:

“Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him.” — Exodus 34:29 (NASB)

It wasn’t manufactured.

It wasn’t strategic.

It was the result of being with God long enough to be changed by Him.

That’s the part that has stayed with me.

Not just that Moses went up the mountain…
but that something in him was shaped there that he could not have produced any other way.

And it takes humility to believe that.

To believe that being before His face long enough to be shaped by Him is actually the key to leading well.

What Moses experienced on the mountain is what Paul later describes:

“But we all… beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image…” — 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB)

Transformation doesn’t come from pressure.

It comes from proximity.

From staying before Him long enough to be changed.

A Moment That Reveals the Difference

Not long after this, Moses is back at it – leading, interceding, navigating conflict, carrying the people forward.

But something is different.

There is clarity.
There is authority.
There is a steadiness that wasn’t there before.

Why?

Because he didn’t skip the mountain.

He didn’t rush past being with God to get back to leading for God.

The Resistance We Don’t Always Name

This is where Isaiah 30 hits hard.

God offers something simple, but costly:

“In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.
But you were not willing.” — Isaiah 30:15 (NASB)

The words matter here:

• Repentance (shuv) — to turn back, to return
• Rest (nachat) — to settle, to be at ease
• Quietness (shaqat) — to be undisturbed
• Trust (bitchah) — confidence, security

Strength is found in returning, settling, and trusting.

But the turning point in the verse isn’t the offer.

It’s the response:

“But you were not willing.”

That’s what I felt at the summit.

Not unwilling in a rebellious way…
but unwilling in a quiet, internal resistance to letting go.

Because rest requires something of us:

It requires us to stop carrying what we’ve been holding
and trust that God can sustain what we’ve been trying to manage.

The Call to Be Still

Scripture keeps reinforcing this same invitation:

“Be still, and know that I am God.” — Psalm 46:10 (NASB)

“So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God… the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works…” — Hebrews 4:9–10 (NASB)

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” — Matthew 11:28 (NASB)

This is not passive.

This is not disengagement.

This is a deliberate release of self-reliance.

abiding: the only way this works

Jesus brings it into full clarity:

“Abide in Me, and I in you.” — John 15:4 (NASB)

“As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself… so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”

“Apart from Me you can do nothing.” — John 15:5 (NASB)

To abide is to remain. To stay.

Not visit. Not check in.

Stay.

This is the only way calling becomes sustainable.

What Changed for Me

As the summit went on, and I kept choosing to step away from work—even when it felt unnatural—something shifted.

Not dramatically. Not instantly.

But steadily.

I was more present in conversations.
More aware of the people in front of me.
More able to receive encouragement instead of just giving it.

Less driven to manage the moment… and more able to simply be in it.

And the relationships that formed in those spaces—
they weren’t secondary to the mission.

They were part of it.

That doesn’t happen when we’re constantly moving.

It happens when we’re willing to slow down enough to actually be there.

Why This Matters for Us

For those of us serving first responders, leading ministries, carrying real weight—this matters more than we often acknowledge.

Because there will always be:

• another need
• another call
• another situation that requires attention

The work doesn’t slow down.

Which means we have to decide:

Will we try to sustain it ourselves?
Or will we allow God to sustain us in it?

An Invitation

Rest is not the absence of calling.
It is the posture that makes calling sustainable.

So this is an encouragement—especially if you feel like you don’t have time for it:

Take the time anyway.

Whether that’s at a Leaders Summit, the National Conference, or simply setting aside intentional space—

Dare to stop the work of your hands.
Bend your knee.

Not because the work isn’t important—
but because you believe He can do more than you ever could.

And that being with Him is not a delay to the mission…

It’s what makes it possible.

If this article stirred something in you, you’re not alone. If you need prayer, support, or someone to connect with, we’re here to help you take the next step toward hope. Please reach out to us through our Contact Us page, or leave a comment below.

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