I don’t know about you, but I’m the type of person that likes to push the limit with my gas gauge. My Father-in-law on the other hand, if it is below a ½ of tank, he’s filling up. Whereas I love the fact that it gives you the number of miles, it thinks you have until you run out of gas.

I wonder though, how that also parallels to life? How many of us are running on fumes? Or we push the limit in our life until we are almost empty?

Not only do we have the caution of running out of gas, we also must be attentive to what fuels us. What do you put in the tank? You put the wrong fuel in your vehicle you will wreck your engine. Why would we think it’s different with our lives?

Let me ask you, in life, what do your gauges say? What does your life “gas gauge” say? What are you filling your life “tank” with? Things that will fuel you or things that will wreck you.

Can I shift the definition just a bit? How much of our life is in a state of unrest or let me say restlessness?

Restlessness as busyness, going and going and going, running on empty, or unsettling. Restlessness of the mind; thoughts spinning, worry building. Restlessness of the heart; stifling anxiety, crippling fear. Restlessness of relationships; uncertain foundations filled with tension. Restlessness of schedules; who is in charge of who; our kids, our work, our activities. Restlessness can run us ragged, can run us empty, can suck the life out of us.
Yet, after God breathes life into us, what does he do?

Read Genesis 2:2-3- 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 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.
What did God do after he finished and created all that he did? GOD RESTED. Do you see the phrases? God finished the work he had been doing, he rested from all the word, he rested from all the work of creating, three different times God finished and rested.

Before I jump into the nuances of this, first things first. Was God tired? Just plain worn out. I mean think about it, wouldn’t YOU be a little tired creating Mars, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Uranus? Wouldn’t you need to take a break after you just got done creating the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, can’t forget the Indian Ocean? I’m sure he was worn out when he got to the seahorses and the manta rays, much less the hippos, giraffes, duckbill platypus. That’s way more work than sending emails, working on spreadsheets, making cheese and sausage, or even writing a sermon.

Yet, God wasn’t tired. He rested, but he wasn’t tired. Think about that, God rested from work, from creating, he rested, even though he wasn’t tired. Why do we think we don’t have to rest?

We have full day with the kids, or work, maybe even two or three jobs or pushing 60 plus hour work weeks, filling our schedules, our minds, our hearts with so many things. Why do we think we don’t need to rest? The Creator-King accomplished way more than I ever have, and he rested.

Which I believe, at this moment, is a moment of confession. I don’t rest well. I even struggled writing this message, because I’m going to encourage you, challenge you, call you out, and I struggle with living out what it means to truly rest.

I need to share to you, and to God, “God, I’m sorry I don’t rest. I’m sorry I think all that you have given me is up to me to make it happen. I’m sorry you’ve given me this gift of rest and instead of receiving it and living it, I’ve disregarded it and lived in restlessness instead.

Our restlessness is a distrust in who God is and his goodness in our life. Think about it for a second. Our restlessness is a distrust in who God is and his goodness in our life. Do we live as though life depends on us? Or do we rest, as though life depends on God?

Folks, we’ll get into a definition here shortly. But this isn’t about being lazy or having apathy, because some of you need to get off the couch and do something for the kingdom of God.
This is about our restlessness, God’s invitation, and what our lack of rest really says about us and our relationship with God.

Today, before we get into specifics, I want you to sit with God around your “life gauge”, what you are filling your life with, and your level of restlessness. Where are you empty or running low? How have you filled your life with other things, hoping it would fuel you? What is your level of restlessness (heart, mind, relationships, and schedule)? Sit with God and simply be honest, confess, and ask him to show you something more today and this week.